Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has issued an apology to Manchester United star Benjamin Sesko. He admits to having judged the striker too early in his career at Old Trafford, crediting him for doing well since the managerial change.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Sherwood said that Michael Carrick has brought out the best in Sesko by playing to his strengths, something Ruben Amorim failed to do at Manchester United.
He claimed that the striker has gone from someone who was afraid to take a penalty against League Two side Grimsby in the Carabao Cup to someone who is ready to deliver on the pitch regularly for the Red Devils.
“I was judging him on what I've seen him under Ruben Amorim. Even the most staunch Manchester United fans would have to admit it wasn't great. I thought it was a Weghorst all over again, in my opinion. I went early. Now, I owe the kid an apology because Michael Carrick has all of a sudden put a battery charger in him. He's playing to his strengths now, even when he's coming off the bench."
"I'm judging him on what I saw in the early part of the season under Ruben Amorim. I'm judging him on not having a character stand up, want to take a penalty at Grimby. But now I'm seeing the boy with his chest up. I saw him run and score that goal with the three of them linked up - the three new signings at Everton with pace. All of a sudden I was thinking, 'who is this kid? I don't recognize him'. He's just burst from like one end of the field to the other."
Benjamin Sesko scored just two goals in 17 matches under Ruben Amorim. He has now scored four times in six matches under Michael Carrick.
Benjamin Sesko has a long way to go at Manchester United, says Tim Sherwood
Tim Sherwood has changed his tone on Benjamin Sesko after his recent performances, saying that the striker needs time at Manchester United. He still thinks that the striker is not on par with the legendary strikers at the club, but can get there.
"I said he shouldn't be anywhere near a Man United shirt. I will go back on that and just say I'm going to give him time, but I maintain he's at the moment he's still entitled to develop, but he's not a Cole, a York, a Van Nistoy, a Van Persie."
Sesko was averaging 520 minutes per goal, but the numbers have crashed to 49.7 under Michael Carrick at Manchester United.