How Man United Setup With Benjamin Sesko.

Amorim's Ideal 9?

Manchester United underperformed their xG by -14.66 last campaign, with only Crystal Palace putting up worse numbers in this metric. The recruitment team clearly want to put this right, already adding the two highest xG overachievers last season in Matheus Cunha (+6.4xGdiff) and Bryan Mbeumo (+7.7).

With the pair set to join Ruben Amorim’s attacking trio for the season, the question remaining was who they would be flanking, but RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko appears to be the man. So why exactly is he the chosen one?

What could be bring?

Sesko is a complete centre-forward, as shown by his heatmap from the 2024/25 season, dropping into the pockets to link play, running the channels and attacking the box to finish off moves.

Despite standing at 6ft 4, the Slovenia international is the stereotype of “good feet for a big man”, dribbling in tight spaces similar to a technical and diminutive number ten whilst having “go go gadget legs” to latch onto loose balls and get touches ahead of defenders.

The 22-year-old has netted double digit goals in his last three seasons since truly breaking through at senior level, scoring 43 goals in 94 appearances for RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig.

When it comes to Sesko, his two “unique selling points” are his rocket of a shot and outrageous athleticism, two things that, on the face of it, arw exactly what you're after from your centre-forward.

The young striker had 68 shots in the Bundesliga last season, with a whopping 25 of those coming from outside the box!

But by stark contrast, last campaign, Sesko only had THREE shots from outside the box, which shows it is a tendency he can opt in and out of, depending on the manager's instruction.

This is important, as United have recruited heavily in the ballstriking department this summer, which going along with Bruno Fernandes, could lead to diminishing returns.

Amorim will have to balance his attacking unit which now contains plenty of gamebreaking qualities, but put them into a system and environment that gets the best value from each.

For example, if Sesko is taking shots from 25 yards too often, the volume of chances Mbeumo could get in and around the box could suffer.

Sesko’s frame and athleticism will also be key to getting the best of those around him, now giving Amorim the chance to fully lean into his vertical approach in build up, with a much more physical presence to aim at.

The 22-year-old won 2.61 aerial duels per 90 last season, more than any United forward last campaign. This will allow Amorim’s side to get bodies around the centre-forward, either reacting to flick ons or being in close proximity to challenge for second balls and attack from this point.

But it doesn't end there. Sesko also then has the engine to join the attack after being the link point for his side, eating up ground with his long stride and arriving in the box to finish off attacking moves.

This perfectly suits Sesko’s skillset whilst protecting one of his bigger weaknesses, which is taking contact from behind. By dropping into these deeper zones to become the link point, central defenders are tasked to come into territory they don't necessarily want to be in, giving the Slovenian the upper hand in this duel.

In comparison, if Sesko was to try and post up defenders inside the box, whilst he would still cause chaos and win aerial duels due to his frame, it would be much easier for defenders to bully him, constantly putting him off balance through contact.

How could they line up?

If Amorim is looking to start all three of his new forward signings, it would look something like this, with Sesko spearheading the attack and Cunha & Mbeumo flanking him.

This would likely see Fernandes take up a deeper role on a more permanent basis, something we saw on and off last season, with the Portuguese star partnering one of Casemiro or Manuel Ugarte in a midfield two.

As with most things in football, this comes with its positives and negatives. On the positive side, Fernandes is now deeper to receive the ball instantly as United regain possession, giving him the opportunity to launch counter attacks with his passing range.

With the opposition defensive structure out of position when they lose the ball, this is the best chance for Fernandes to create a high xG chance, turning settled possession to a dangerous attack with just one action.

On the other hand, this also leaves Fernandes as a part of that 3-2 rest defence when the wingbacks are advanced and United lose possession. Whilst the captain has shown defensive grit this season, making 2.45 tackles per 90 and making 6.37 ball recoveries per 90, his ability to effectively screen the defence is still something you wouldn't associate with his game.

However, the positives could outweigh the negatives if Fernandes strikes up a strong connection with Sesko, who is a willing runner with a powerful stride, which could make the pair an unstoppable duo in transition.

It will be down to Amorim to try and negate those weaknesses with the correct selections around Fernandes in this deeper role, but it remains to be seen if United could even dip into the market AGAIN for a big money signing, with murmurs of Carlos Baleba from Brighton beginning to circle.