Nottingham Forest 2-2 Manchester United match reaction and review
Man Utd spent big to overhaul their attack in the summer transfer window.
Whenever Manchester United fail to win a match, there is criticism to be had. The three-game winning run came to an end against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, though the unbeaten run was extended to four matches in the Premier League.
Casemiro was the star who shone brightest as United held Sean Dyche's side to a draw in his first league home match in charge, while Diogo Dalot dropped a disastrous performance in his uncomfortable left wing-back role. Yet it was the performance of another man that caught the eye of United great Gary Neville.
Benjamin Sesko cut a frustrated figure in the United forward line and posed more of a threat outside of the box than he did inside of it. That is probably to be expected from a 22-year-old who has only been in the Premier League for a couple of months and who carries huge responsibility on his shoulders.
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“I’m no further forward with him,” Neville commented on NBC Sports. “The jury is out. He’s well off it compared to the other summer signings Manchester United made up front, like Cunha and Mbeumo. “He looks awkward. He had a couple of good opportunities against Forest, but his touch wasn’t quite right. For £80 million, you can say he’s young and settling in, but you still want to see a bit more.”
It is right to demand more from any player in a United shirt, though it is also important to point out his transfer fee was £66.3m plus a further £7.3m in add-ons. That is still an enormous amount for a striker, but United bought Sesko in the knowledge he would be an investment rather than a short-term solution.
His transfer fee is comparable to the £62.5m for Matheus Cunha and the £65m on Bryan Mbeumo, but they were both Premier League-proven players, so it is no surprise they have started better than Sesko at the club. Amorim made it his preference to sign those already established in the English top-flight and viewed Cunha and Mbeumo as 'less risky' due to their track record.
It is also worth remembering that United had made Liam Delap their preferred target in the summer before he joined Chelsea, while a move for Viktor Gyokeres was never going to happen when he made it clear he would rather join Arsenal instead. There were not many compelling options available to United in the final month of the window, and it was obvious Sesko would need time to settle before he could be fairly judged.
There have been plenty of comparisons between Sesko and Rasmus Hojlund since he moved to Old Trafford, with both players clearly raw talents who would have to carry the weight of the striker role on their shoulders while adapting to the league. Yet it is also worth noting that it took Hojlund until his 15th Premier League match to score in the competition; Sesko did it in his sixth.
Sesko has made 11 appearances in a United shirt and started in seven of them. Even if he had scored more goals, the jury would still be out on him at such an early stage, and it is simply too soon to gauge where he is truly at. You must also remember that this time last month, United were seemingly in crisis; it was hardly a healthy environment to bring the best out of a new young signing.
It is fair to expect more from any player in a United shirt, but to compare Sesko with Mbeumo and Cunha completely misses the point.
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