It has been a slow start to life at Manchester United for Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian joined the Red Devils over the summer, costing the club £74m, including £66.3m plus add-ons. He signed a five-year deal at Old Trafford.
Yet, the 22-year-old has not really hit the ground running since his big-money move from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. The six-foot-five centre-forward is being eased in by manager Ruben Amorim, and has played just 80 Premier League minutes. He did play a full game in the Carabao Cup defeat away to Grimsby Town, but did not score.
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Despite the slow start for Sesko, the same cannot be said for fellow summer signing Matheus Cunha.
Cunha’s start to life at United
Football statistician Statman Dave said it best: Cunha is “going to light up Old Trafford this season”. The Brazilian has started life for the Red Devils in excellent fashion, despite not finding the back of the net yet.
Cunha
A starter in all four of United’s games so far this term, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers player has added a real spark to Amorim's attack with his directness and creativity.
He’s come close to scoring several times, with this effort against Fulham one of the closest.
The underlying numbers from Cunha’s time at United so far highlight how well he has started. The Brazil international averaged 1.3 key passes and 1.7 successful dribbles per 90 minutes already this season, as per Sofascore.
Unfortunately for the Red Devils, the 26-year-old picked up an injury in their most recent Premier League clash against Burnley at Old Trafford. It was serious enough for Amorim to substitute Cunha 31 minutes into the game.
Matheus Cunha
At this stage, it is unclear if the Brazilian attacker will be back in time for Sunday’s Manchester Derby at the Etihad Stadium. If not, Amorim has someone waiting in the wings to unleash.
United’s ready-made Cunha replacement
Despite Cunha’s injury, United are not short of options for one of those number ten roles next to Bryan Mbeumo. Bruno Fernandes could be pushed higher up the pitch, Amad could move from wingback, and Kobbie Mainoo could get a well-deserved first Premier League start.
But the ideal option for Amorim to unleash could be Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee. Described as a "monster" of an attacker by football analyst Ben Mattinson, the 24-year-old impressed in the second half of last season, especially as a number ten.
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Having featured in 34 games under United’s Portuguese manager so far, Zirkzee has found the back of the net six times and assisted one goal.
One of those strikes came in the 2-2 draw away to Olympique Lyon in the Europa League, a goal which proved crucial given the fact United were 7-6 aggregate victors.
One of Zirkzee’s biggest strengths is his silky link-up play. The attacker, who can play as a centre-forward as well as a number 10, is excellent when it comes to dropping into pockets of space to link play together with quick give-and-go passes.
He also excels in one-vs-one situations in tight spaces, able to dance past defenders with his quick feet, often leaving them in the dust. Although he doesn’t possess lightning-quick pace, his superb technical ability shines through.
Manchester United's Joshua Zirkzee scores vs Fulham
Indeed, the stats from the Europa League last season back up the theory that those attributes are his very best.
For example, he had a 70% take-on success rate and played 3.4 progressive passes per 90 minutes. Those metrics place him in the top 2% and 6% of forwards in the competition last season.
Zirkzee - 24/25 Europa League
Stat (per 90)
Expected assists
Progressive passes
Key passes
Shot-creating actions
Take-on success rate
Stats from FBref
Zirkzee could be the perfect option for Amorim to unleash as one of the number 10s. He has only played an hour or so of football this season, but he is perfectly suited to playing in that same role as Cunha.
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It means the likes of Sesko would miss out on a spot in the starting lineup, but Zirkzee’s technical ability might be too good for Amorim to ignore, going into a huge week for the Red Devils.