For the second time in four days, Benjamin Sesko was the last to enter the pitch. In the penalty shootout with Grimsby, he took his 20th penalty.
Before that, in the match against Burnley, Sesko was only put on the field at the end of the match, after coach Ruben Amorim took turns replacing Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo, although Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount both left the field due to injury.
The £66 million signing was all but sidelined, until Burnley equalized for the second time and Sesko made his third Premier League appearance. All are from the bench and the Slovenia striker has yet to score for the "Red Devils".
Bruno Fernandes' goal in the 97th minute brought 3 points to M.U, but also overshadowed Sesko's 2 unfortunate opportunities. It was a header from Bryan Mbeumo's cross that sent the ball over the crossbar and a failed shot after a pass from Diogo Dalot. These situations almost caused Man United to lose the victory.
Despite having successfully executed 11/11 penalties for club and country before joining Old Trafford, Sesko was not tasked with a penalty kick. Amorim believes Sesko's 1.93m tall figure will put him at a disadvantage in his penalty role. Therefore, this striker is behind Matthijs de Ligt in the priority list.
"This is related. He ended the match against Grimsby in a cramped state, really beyond his ability to bear. That's why we protected Sesko from penalties.
Zirkzee is also a striker, an international striker, so that choice is reasonable. In pre-season, Sesko has never played the full 90 minutes. With the Cunha and Mount problems, I don't want to risk anyone anymore," Amorim said.
However, the reality on the field showed something different. Sesko lacks the necessary sharpness of a real goalscorer. In the matches against Arsenal, Fulham and Burnley, he only had 4 shots, none of which were on target.
In the match against Grimsby, he had 6 shots and should have scored. Sesko's xG in that match was 0.7, but he did not score any goals. The Slovenia international's conversion rate this season is even lower than Rodrigo Muniz (Fulham) and Josh Cullen (Burnley).
However, that does not mean that Sesko's career at Man United will fail. He can learn from Cunha and Mbeumo, who, despite missing 11m at Blundell Park, still have an impressive start thanks to the advantage from pre-season.
In fact, many excellent United strikers have scored in their debut games, such as Wayne Rooney, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Marcus Rashford and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In contrast, there have been unsatisfactory starts, typically Zirkzee and Antony, along with other warnings.
Rasmus Hojlund had to wait 3 months to get his first goal in the Premier League. He has a transfer fee similar to Sesko - 64 million pounds (can increase to 72 million), while the Slovenia striker is 66 million pounds (can go up to 73 million pounds).
That does not mean Sesko will repeat the disappointing prospect of Hojlund, but Man United's recent history shows that the risk still exists.
This summer, some of the Premier League's biggest signings have immediately left their mark. Viktor Gyokeres, who was signed by Arsenal instead of Sesko, scored a double in his home debut. Hugo Ekitike, who turned down Newcastle to join Anfield, started with an average of one goal per game. Joao Pedro also showed his effectiveness in Chelsea's shirt.
Meanwhile, Sesko still seems lost. Man United can argue that they have signed him for the future for a decade, not a month. In general, Sesko still has time to improve in the coming time.
