Everton v Manchester United - Premier League
Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko is in hot goal-scoring form (Picture: Getty Images)
Benjamin Sesko is quickly becoming an Old Trafford hero as his goal-scoring run continues, but Rio Ferdinand feels there is still a lot more to come from him at Manchester United.
The 22-year-old arrived from RB Leipzig over the summer as the Red Devils splashed out £74m on his signature.
It took him a little while to settle in, with the team not exactly free-flowing under Ruben Amorim’s management, but he has now hit his stride in style.
The Slovenia international scored three goals in two games under Darren Fletcher’s caretaker management and has continued that form under Michael Carrick.
The interim boss put Sesko on the bench for his first six games in charge, but the striker came on to score in three of them, demanding a place in the starting XI.
He got his chance to start on Sunday against Crystal Palace and he scored again, producing a brilliant header to put the home side ahead at Old Trafford.
That was his eighth goal in the Premier League and ninth of the season in all competitions as he builds a very encouraging first campaign in England.
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Sesko has been vital to United’s recent good run of results (Picture: Getty Images)
Red Devils legend Ferdinand is certainly excited about what he has seen, partly because he thinks there is an awful lot more to come on top of this.
‘I think his biggest strengths are still to come,’ the former England defender said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
‘I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of him. If you look at his highlights when he signed. What’s he like? Well he hasn’t scored a goal that came up on his clips straight away.
‘A thunderbolt from 30 yards. He hasn’t scored with both feet a mad volley. These are goals he was renowned for before he turned up. People were like, “he’s explosive, wow, can finish from anywhere.”
‘We haven’t seen them yet. That confidence hasn’t landed at Old Trafford yet. When that lands, there’s another layer to him still, at least.’
‘We’re still only seeing 50 or 60 per cent of him’
Sesko didn’t score until his seventh Manchester United appearance, but Ferdinand feels this is also an encouraging sign as he has shown a strong mentality to overcome a tricky start.
‘What I think one of his strengths is, he’s had a tough start to his Manchester United career,’ he said. ‘Given that [Rasmus] Hojlund was somebody who struggled before him so there was huge pressure.
Rio Ferdinand expects fireworks from Sesko in future (Picture: Rio Ferdinand Presents)
‘Another young striker, coming from Germany now. Is he going to be the saviour? A lot of question marks. He would have seen and heard all that, he comes in and it doesn’t go well at the beginning. This team’s struggling and he’s struggling to find his feet.
‘But [his] mentality has shown that he’s made of the right stuff so far, he’s turned a corner now. A new manager has come in, things have been different, there’s a new relationship being built there and we’re seeing the benefits of it.
‘We’re still only seeing 50 or 60 per cent of him, I think. Down to age and from what I’ve seen him do previously.’
Sesko will look to add to his goal tally when Manchester United go to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle on Wednesday night.
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