Manchester United have made a mockery of the predictions made about their transfer window before it began, and Benjamin Sesko solidifies it.
This is the same club Sir Jim Ratcliffe claimed would have gone bust last December if he hadn’t intervened or cut jobs.
Cue less than a year later, and nearly £200m has been spent on three quality players – Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko.
The spending has likely not stopped yet, which means the club will now focus on selling to get the net spend down, but they might be about to sell the wrong player.
Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United celebrates after scoring.
Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Benjamin Sesko shouldn’t be a case of ‘one in, one out’
Sesko arrives amid plenty of excitement due to his combination of pace, power, and technical excellence, and is a clear upgrade on United’s forward options.
Rasmus Hojlund did better in pre-season, and Joshua Zirkzee’s fit is tantalising alongside goalscoring No. 10s, but Sesko’s potential is sky-high, with the immediate ability to contribute as well.
Apart from a loan for Marcus Rashford, however, United haven’t managed a single sale, especially among the four remaining exiled players.
Garnacho’s talks with Chelsea are sure to stretch deep into the window, so, in the meantime, United have identified Hojlund to sell to generate funds.
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It has been argued before that the asking price for Hojlund was a mistake, but after signing Sesko, it is hard to argue for his sale entirely.
The Dane’s confidence was shattered at Old Trafford as there was no hiding place for him even when he was going through a bad run of form.
That was because United didn’t have another striker to share the burden with, trapping Hojlund in a vicious cycle of low confidence leading to bad form leading to low confidence and so on.
If they sell Hojlund now, Sesko is at risk of suffering from the same fate.
Both Sesko and Hojlund will benefit from each other
While United’s absence from European competitions means Amorim doesn’t exactly need a lot of options, Hojlund and Sesko are of a similar age profile.
Sesko will surely undergo bad patches of form, which is where Hojlund will need to step in.
Zirkzee is seen as a No. 10 by Amorim, while Chido Obi looks a long way away from being a proper Man Utd striker relied upon every week.
Most importantly, selling Hojlund now will give United an immediate headache next summer as well.
If United get their wish of returning to the Champions League next season, they can’t start that season with just one senior striker.
That is where Hojlund comes in again, which is why it would be extremely illogical to sell a player who clearly wants to stay and is determined to make things work.
If it doesn’t happen this season, then United can cut him next year, when another year of his fee will be off the books, making it easier to book a profit.
Furthermore, they can plan accordingly next season on how they want to approach things if they get UCL or the Europa League.
Selling Hojlund now would be a short-term move that can have negative long-term repercussions.