Manchester United signed Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig for a transfer fee of £66 million, and he will be United’s new long-term target man.
The Red Devils were crying out for a striker under Ruben Amorim after a season where Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund combined for just seven goals in the Premier League.
Amorim hopes that Sesko can be the long-term solution for Manchester United, after his arrival sparked a lot of excitement and optimism amongst the Old Trafford faithful.
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Sesko is a tall, target man striker, but he is also very very quick. His blend of size and speed make him a nightmare to defend against, and it could be a recipe for success in the Premier League. But what about the 22-year-old’s career before he joined Man United?
Academy days in Slovenia before moving to Austria
Sesko began his career in Slovenia with his local team Radece at the age of just seven. He spent the early part of his youth career developing at the club, before moving to join Krsko in 2016, aged 13. He featured for the Slovenian club in their U15s and U17s teams before moving to Domzale in 2018, where he ended his youth career.
Following his impressive performances in the youth teams in Slovenia, Sesko caught the eye of the Red Bull project, and specifically Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg.
He moved there in 2019 at the age of 16, and signed his first professional contract on a three year deal, which would take him to 2022. In his first season for Salzburg, Sesko didn’t feature for the first team, he instead played five games for the U18s, and also spent the year on loan at second-tier club Liefering.
At the age of 17, Sesko, scored 21 goals in 29 games for Liefering, becoming the top scorer in the second division, which earned him the chance to show what he was made of at Salzburg the following year.
In the 2021/22 season, Sesko made 37 appearances for the Austrian side, scoring 11 goals, and providing seven assists. He only continued to develop too, as the following season, the Slovenian striker scored 18 goals, and four assists, also adding six Champions League games to his resume.
Move to RB Leipzig and becoming a Bundesliga marksman
After two very impressive seasons for Salzburg’s first team, Sesko made the move up the Red Bull ranks to join RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. The German club paid £27.4m for him, and it turned out at the age of 19, he was worth every penny.
In his first season in Germany, Sesko made 42 appearances for Leipzig, scoring 18 goals, and providing two assists, clearly showing that the step up to the Bundesliga was one he was ready to take.
Following that, Sesko only continued to develop, and in his second year at Leipzig, he became one of the most prolific strikers not only in the German league, but in the whole of Europe. He scored 21 goals in all competitions, and provided six assists, which caught the attention of three Premier League sides.
Arsenal were the first to hold talks with Sesko, but after failing to agree personal terms, the Gunners turned their attention to Viktor Gyokeres. Then Newcastle went after Sesko to help replace Alexander Isak, but as soon as Manchester United came in for him, it was clear that the Slovenian only wanted to go to Old Trafford.
Click here to see Manchester United’s first team squad ahead of the rest of the season.