Benjamin Sesko joined Manchester United in the summer transfer windowplaceholder image
Benjamin Sesko joined Manchester United in the summer transfer window | Getty Images
Man United’s defence hasn’t been great this season, however, a lack of goals has been a major problem that Ruben Amorim had a solution for.
Manchester United’s biggest weakness isn’t exactly a secret with Darren Fletcher finding out the hard way that a successful game plan is irrelevant if your players can’t score enough goals.
Throughout the season, the Red Devils have consistently created as many chances as any other team in the league, but have failed to find a similar consistency when it comes to taking them. Benjamin Sesko doubled his tally for the campaign with two goals against relegation threatened Burnley, and yet he remains first choice for the no.9 role. It is a far cry from the days when third choice Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored 18 and fourth choice Teddy Sheringham has a return of a goal or assist every 110 minutes as a backup.
Ruben Amorim wanted Man United striker depth
Sir Alex Ferguson knew that he could turn to them to turn the Champions League final, whereas whoever takes charge in the summer has a serious problem to solve despite the £75m spent on Sesko. It was money that Amorim didn’t want to spend. Instead, he wanted the money to pay for Ollie Watkins with plenty of money left over to strengthen elsewhere or help fund another senior option to lead the line. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was linked, who has double the goals of Sesko and he was available for free.
According to reports by Sky Sports, Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was another eyed by the former boss before he was sacked as head coach claiming that Amorim wanted ‘some experienced attacking options’ and had chosen Mateta and Brighton’s Danny Welbeck as potential targets he ‘liked’. The recruitment team and powers that be were reluctant to splash out after the £200m cheque that was written to cover the cost of Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
It was talkSPORT that claimed Watkins was the man Amorim wanted in the summer, which makes sense given how out of place Sesko looked in his system: “Dating further back to the summer transfer window, talkSPORT understands Amorim would have preferred to have signed Premier League proven Ollie Watkins over Benjamin Sesko, who has so far struggled to adapt to English football.”
Was Amorim right?
With seven goals, despite being troubled by injury, Watkins has also scored nearly double the number of goals that Sesko has managed. The 30-year old would also have cost almost half of the Slovenian’s fee too.
It was a rare example of Amorim being right and United shouldn’t make the same mistake again. Sesko might yet come good, but there is no depth, there are no options and nobody proven to be a consistent goalscorer in the Premier League available for Michael Carrick or who takes over in the summer. Signing Mateta gives an all-round option to lead the line and score goals, he would also be cheap due to his contract status, with Watkins providing a safe pair of hands in terms of experience and know how.
It might not have been enough to save him, but Amorim’s position would have been a lot stronger had the board listened to his pleas.
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