Ruben Amorim has consisted with Benjamin Sesko and opted against using Joshua Zirkzee off the bench in what could be the biggest hint of his preferred January transfer target
Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim has a problem he needs to find a solution for at Man United
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Manchester United continued to enjoy their best run of form of the season after coming away from Nottingham Forest with a point on Saturday - yet, Ruben Amorim faces several dilemmas.
Amad's fantastic strike in the 81st minute meant United avoided a defeat to one of the Premier League's bottom three teams. After a decent start in the Midlands, the Reds found themselves 2-1 down in a matter of minutes after half-time.
Amorim stuck with the same team that defeated Brighton and Hove Albion the week prior, and when Casemiro opened the scoring from Bruno Fernandes' corner, optimism of a fourth straight win was high.
Two goals in two minutes through Morgan Gibbs-White and Nicolo Savona turned the game on its head, and United spent the final 40 minutes of the contest chasing an equaliser. Fortunately, that goal came. But Amorim's substitute behaviour has left questions to be answered.
The Portuguese brought Diogo Dalot off in the 68th minute for Patrick Dorgu after a difficult afternoon for the Portuguese. Nine minutes later, Noussair Mazraoui replaced Leny Yoro. Both changes occurred in the backline, although Mazraoui's involvement was marked by an increased presence in the middle third.
Left on the bench were Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee. Amad, Casemiro, and Bruno Fernandes were all having decent individual games, as were Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo; therefore, the decision not to disrupt the momentum made sense.
However, Benjamin Sesko's performance was lacking, so much so that the striker has been on the receiving end of some harsh words from Gary Neville. The former United defender delivered a brutal assessment of his performance at the City Ground. "I'm no further forward with him. The jury is out," he told NBC Sports.
"He's well off it compared to the other summer signings that Man United made up front in Cunha and Mbeumo. He looks awkward, he had a couple of really good opportunities in the first half - when balls got played over the top. And his touch wasn't quite right.
Benjamin Sesko
Benjamin Sesko has scored two goals for Manchester United since joining from RB Leipzig
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"For £80million, you can say he's young, or has a lot of potential and he's only just settling in, but you still want to see a bit more." Sesko stayed on the pitch for the entire game, while Zirkzee, who is understood to be keen on a January move, was kept on the bench.
Beyond Zirkzee, Amorim has no other striker option to choose from, meaning the likelihood of Sesko seeing out the entirety of games is high, regardless of how impressive or poor he performs.
At Forest, Sesko completed just nine passes and had an xG of just 0.16. All three of his attempts went off target and he managed only two touches in the opposition box - perhaps the most worrying stat of them all.
Away from the striker, there were also problems with Dalot's display. Unlike Sesko, the full-back was replaced by Dorgu after being caught sleeping for Savona's goal at the back post.
Both players are naturally included in Amorim's strongest XI, but given the nature of the two positions and their importance to the system, concerns will persist in the long term. The January transfer window opens in less than two months now, and it's becoming clearer what the United boss needs next.
Sesko's arrival in England was always going to take some time, and there have been many signs of optimism so far. But without a centre-forward in the squad to choose from when a change is needed, his development is being limited.
Links to Real Madrid's Endrick in recent weeks sound tempting. The Brazilian hasn't played a minute for Xabi Alonso's side yet, and a temporary move to provide stiff competition in attack is something Sesko needs.
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