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Player Focus
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Just like any player to rock up at Old Trafford, Benjamin Sesko arrived at Manchester United with huge expectations and a similarly-sized transfer fee. But in his early months as a new signing under Ruben Amorim - and the largest acquisition since the Portuguese was appointed - Sesko is struggling to showcase the form that saw United fight tooth and nail with Newcastle to sign him from RB Leipzig. United cowered when approaching the task of facing their city rivals Manchester City and were never truly in the contest, as Pep Guardiola's men strolled to a 3-0 success in Sunday's Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland celebrated with a brace - and it should have been a hat-trick - after Phil Foden had opened the scoring. Transfermarkt takes a closer look at Sesko's performance with our Player Focus feature.
Player Focus: Benjamin Sesko
City's creators danced around the pitch with glee, with Jeremy Doku a constant threat and Foden looking like the player we all know is there. On United's side, there was no such freedom and it showed, with Sesko starved of service. Giving the Slovenia international his full Premier League debut away at Manchester City in a local derby is no easy feat, but the very least United could have expected from the 22-year-old was some enthusiasm, some youthful exuberance. That means chasing the ball down, snapping around the ankles of worried centre-backs and running the channels. Instead, Sesko looked as isolated as a piece of driftwood floating on the Atlantic.
Early on, he showed some promise when he dug out a potshot and found the target, testing the reflexes of Gianluigi Donnarumma. The encouraging sign was that he was in the right position score. What was less promising is that his shot on goal after three minutes would prove to be the only opportunity he would get for the entire 79 minutes he spent on the pitch to test the Italian goalkeeper. He made a well-timed run in behind the City backline and left Josko Gvardiol trailing behind, but his heavy touch allowed the ball to skid away from him on the slippery surface. If there were hopes for an improved second-half from United and Sesko, things actually got worse as City took hold of the game and controlled possession. Sesko spent long periods without the ball and looked lost amongst the sea of sky blue shirts.
It wasn't entirely his fault, though, as unusually terrible service from Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo left him with very few chances to get a sniff of goal. That said, Sesko's attempts to get involved were half-hearted at best after the interval. Shortly after half-time, he hardly got a touch of the ball and didn't look proactive in trying to get involved. His afternoon lasted 79 minutes when Ruben Amorim sent on Joshua Zirkzee in search of a late consolation, with Sesko finishing with one shot, three aerial duels won and 57 per cent pass accuracy. It proved to be a difficult afternoon, and many would find it hard b being marshalled by the indomitable pair of Gvardiol and Ruben Dias. That said, United can and will expect more from the powerful striker in the weeks to come.
Market value analysis
United paid a significant fee to sign Sesko this summer - €76.5million represents a huge outlay for a team that finished 15th last season, even for a club of United's stature. But with the striker still waiting for his first goal for the Red Devils, there will be increased scrutiny on his performances going forward. More sympathetic fans will understand that moving to a country with increased physicality will mean Sesko needs time to adapt, but if the wait for goals continues into the winter months, there will be valid concerns about the impact on his confidence and that could affect his €70m transfer value. The likes of Antony, Rasmus Rasmus Højlund and Mason Mount have all experienced big dips in their market value after making similar switches - Sesko will be hoping to avoid the same plight.
