Nicky Butt has issued a stark warning to Ruben Amorim and Manchester United fans about Benjamin Sesko, claiming that he may not hit the ground running as expected
Ruben Amorim speaks with Benjamin Sesko
Ruben Amorim has received a warning about Benjamin Sesko(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA, Getty Images)
Nicky Butt has warned Ruben Amorim that history could repeat itself at Manchester United for Benjamin Sesko without a supporting player.
The Portuguese is under pressure to perform in the Premier League this season after receiving significant backing from the board over the summer. The 40-year-old has ushered in an array of top-flight talent to Old Trafford in the past three months, splashing out more than £200million on players like Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, as he aims to recover from last season's disappointing 15th-place finish.
However, club icon Butt suggests that United supporters shouldn't anticipate £74m signing Sesko to make an immediate impact in the league, considering he is still a player in development. The former midfielder, who made 387 appearances for the Red Devils between 1992 and 2004, also shared concerns that the Slovenian might experience a similar fate to Rasmus Hojlund, who hasn't lived up to his own £72m valuation since joining from Atalanta two years ago.
In conversation with Mirror Football via BetMGM, Butt said: "I think he's going to need time. I think that's why Hojlund...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(Image: PA)
"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 demonstrated flashes of world-class ability during his first season with Manchester United, netting 10 goals across 30 appearances, the 22-year-old's performances declined last term. Despite spearheading the attack in 32 matches for the club, Hojlund managed to find the net on just four occasions before his future at Old Trafford came under scrutiny.
Although the Danish striker was initially determined to battle for his spot in Amorim's first team, he secured a deadline day loan return to Serie A to feature under Antonio Conte at Napoli. Discussing the transfer, 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(Image: Getty Images)
"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 seems the Red Devils are taking a measured approach with how they utilise Sesko during the early stages of his Manchester United career, with the 22-year-old making substitute appearances in the club's first three Premier League fixtures against Arsenal, Fulham and Burnley.
Despite playing the full 90 minutes in his team's Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town last month, where he failed to score before the club were knocked out of the tournament following a nail-biting penalty shootout, Amorim may look to the star for the upcoming Premier League match this weekend.
United are set to face their fierce rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, September 14. Cunha, who has been Amorim's go-to striker in the Premier League this season, sustained a hamstring injury during United's 3-2 victory over Burnley prior to the international break, and as it stands, it remains unclear whether Cunha will be fit enough to participate in the Manchester Derby.