Ruben Amorim enjoyed a fruitful first summer transfer window at Manchester United, as evidenced by snapping up Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in a £74million move - but Nicky Butt isn't sold on the forward
Ruben Amorim speaks with Benjamin Sesko
Ruben Amorim has been warned about Benjamin Sesko(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Nicky Butt has warned Ruben Amorim that history may repeat itself at Manchester United with Benjamin Sesko, unless he finds him a support player. The Portuguese mastermind is expected to deliver in the Premier League this season after receiving the backing of the board this summer.
The 40-year-old has brought a wealth of top-tier talent to Old Trafford over the past three months, spending more than £200million on the likes of Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, as he looks to bounce back from last term's 15th-place finish.
But club legend Butt believes that United fans can't expect £74m man Sesko to hit the ground running in the league right away, given he is still far from a finished product. And the former midfielder, who racked up 387 appearances for the Red Devils between 1992 and 2004, has shared a concern that the Slovenian could suffer a similar fate as Rasmus Hojlund, who has failed to live up to his own £72m price tag since arriving from Atalanta two years ago.
Speaking to Mirror Football via BetMGM. Butt said: "I think he's going to need time. I think that's why Hojiund…I think he got let down a little bit when he came in. He was a young player coming in; it's like history repeating itself, really, but he had no one around him to help him out.
"He had a couple of players in [Marcus] Rashford and certain other players at the start of it who were out of form and they weren't performing right, so the onus was on him, the young players, to go and score goals. And in a football club that's got the eyes all over the world on them, and that's not performing, it's really difficult.
"I just hope they're not making the same mistake with this player, because he's only young, had no experience in the Premier League, and I think that's where I would have liked maybe Ollie Watkins or someone coming in to Man United, who's been there, seen it, knows the league, can help a young player.
"So I hope they don't expect him to come straight into the football club and go and hit the ground running and scoring goals. Certainly, obviously, everyone wants him to do that, but it's a really tough ask to go into that football club and have a young player who has no experience to go in.
Rasmus Hojlund reacts during a game
Rasmus Hojlund has failed to make a mark with Manchester United
"It's easy when we come through, because when you're coming into a football club that's performing well and has experienced world-class players, and you can come in as a young player, it's so much easier. But when you go into a struggling team with the eyes of the world on them, it's really tough, so it's going to be a tough start to the season for him, I think."
While Hojlund showed glimpses of world-class talent during his first season with Manchester United, scoring 10 goals in 30 games, the 22-year-old's form dipped last term. Despite leading the line in 32 outings for the club, Hojlund managed to find the back of the net just four times before his future at the club was cast into speculation.
While the Dane was initially insistent on fighting for his place in Amorim's starting XI, he secured a deadline day loan back to Serie A to play under Antonio Conte at Napoli. Speaking about the move, he said: "I come with a lot to prove, I want to show myself in the best team in Italy, and Napoli is going to be very, very good.
Benjamin Sesko looks on
Benjamin Sesko joined Manchester United this summer
"I always work hard, I like to say I want to die on the pitch, to give everything for the team, to score goals, create, and fight for everything. I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity. I’m very, very grateful and I’m going to do my best to make us win something this year again, and to do the fans and club proud."
It appears as though the Red Devils are being cautious with how they deploy Sesko early into his Manchester United tenure, with the 22-year-old entering the fray from the bench in the club's opening three Premier League matches against Arsenal, Fulham and Burnley.
He meanwhile played the full 90 minutes in his side's Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby Town last month, failing to find the score sheet before the club were omitted from the tournament via a tense penalty shootout. It comes as Amorim may turn to the star to start when the Premier League returns this weekend, with United set to clash with bitter rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium come Sunday, September 14.
While Cunha has been deployed as Amorim's trusted striker in the Premier League this term, the Brazilian picked up a hamstring injury during United's 3-2 win over Burnley ahead of the international break. And at the time of writing, it is uncertain as to whether Cunha will be fit to feature in the Manchester derby.
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