Ruben Amorim does not dare approach rock bottom after the 2024/25 season. One of the men whom the club have chosen to kickstart the revival is Benjamin Sesko, who is "ready" to go for the first fixture of the new Premier League season against the club that had courted his interest.
‘He’s always thinking about football’
The Red Devils scored only 44 goals in 38 outings last term in the league, the fifth lowest tally in the top tier. Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha should help offer goals, speed, and individuality, but the board have also backed the team through the signing of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
“I’m very happy. He has great potential in everything he does. He’s going to feel the Premier League is aggressive. He's going to learn, but he has great potential. I see Ben being a striker for Manchester United for years. That is why we paid so much to have a striker to make his history in our club.”
The £66 million man only moved to **Old Trafford**last week, but he is in good physical condition.
“We didn’t have a lot of time, but he's ready. Physically he's ready. That is a big component in our in our league. Then he's really smart. Every detail he asks about. He’s a guy that is always thinking. He spends all afternoon here working on his fitness. He's ready to play. We’ll see if he's going to start.”
The 22-year-old has the dedication to be at his absolute best as a professional that Amorim demands.
“He does the same as the other players. He's one guy that stays, have lunch, then goes to the medical department, does the stretching. He’s always thinking about football, really obsessed about that.”
The Slovenian has spent his whole career in the Red Bull setup across spells in Austria and Germany. This is a different beast altogether, but the striker is behaving like a man who knows what is at stake.
“I don't need to tell Ben that this is Manchester United a lot of pressure you have to perform you need to be ready for the physicality we need to be ready for every game, it’s do or die. I have not that concern I have the opposite. He asks smart questions, listens and wants to perform. It is really good.”
He is only three months older than Rasmus Hojlund, who has struggled to succeed after his £64 million transfer from Atalanta BC in the summer of 2023. For now, he remains a part of the project.
“He’s one more option. We will see. We are focused in this game and Rasmus is still our player.”
The manager then delivered more thoughts on the options he has in the squad. Injuries hurt their ambitions last season, and he will be without two men for this fixture. Lisandro Martinez is still missing with an ACL injury, and **Noussair Mazraoui**is out of action with a hamstring issue.
“Nous and Licha are out. Josh Zirkzee and Andre Onana recovered: they are options for this game.”
The transfer window has targeted the weaknesses in the final third, but there are still doubts about the double pivot. Bruno Fernandes has starred as a number ten for the Red Devils, but his compatriot has asked him to sit in a deeper position many times, and Amorim explained his plans for the captain.
“Even in a deeper role, he had shots near the box. It's a good thing also for Bruno to stay in training in one position. I want Bruno near the ball. That is important for our team. Last year I felt sometimes we need Bruno near the goal. Now, we have players with different characteristics to cope with that.”
Another player who has often been in more advanced areas might be an option in the double pivot.
*“Maybe Mason Mount I think is a player that can play in the position if we want something different. We are going to find out in the season but we have players to cope and to win in Premier League.”*
The papers' pick for a newcomer is Carlos Baleba. The **Brighton**midfielder would bring the ball progression and youth that the team is crying out for, but would cost a sizeable fee. Regardless of whether he arrives or not, the manager made clear that he can work with what he has available.
“I’m really happy with our with our players. They are working really well. We have different players for that position. So we are prepared to win any game with our players.”
‘He's a player with different characteristics'
The 40-year-old is open to learning all the time, and he has recognised it is easy to drown in the noise.
*“I learned a lot last season. I don't need to focus a lot in the future. That doesn't matter. I don't care. I just want to win against Arsenal. I need to live day by day like my players and focus in each game.”*
Results are no guarantee, but Amorim is happy to see how the culture is changing within the club.
“We cannot change everything in four weeks but we are better. We are training harder, training better. We are more prepared to cope with demands of the game. We have new players we need to understand in the real game what they are capable to do in the moment. But I'm more confident that is clear.”
The Portuguese played his hand, setting his sights on trying to qualify for Europe. It is clear that the club cannot sink as low as the 15th position in the table for the second year in a row, and with no European football to clutter their schedule, this is an opportunity to reset the standards for the squad.
“We want to return to Europe. We have to fight a lot. There's a lot of good teams with more time than us together. But we are going to fight for it. We want to improve. We need to focus game by game. If we are thinking how we are going to finish the season is a problem. Let's focus game by game.”
He must try to get the better of Viktör Gyokeres, who could have come to the club instead of Sesko. The Gunners paid £64 million for a man who scored 97 times in 102 outings for Sporting, but the question is whether the striker can overwhelm with his powerful physique in the Premier League.
*“That’s a question for Mikel. In Sporting, they have a very good group of scouting because they live from players they can buy and sell to survive. He’s a very good player with different characteristics.”*
He is wary that **Kai Havertz**could also play as a central forward, creating a different puzzle to solve.
“It’s going to be different if we face in the beginning of the game Viktor or Havertz for example. So we need to be prepared for that. But it's not a surprise to watch Viktor playing for a big club in England.”