“That was expected”: United willing to be patient with 22-yo after slow start to the season

Manchester United finished 15th in the Premier League last season, scoring just 44 goals in 38 league games. The Red Devils quickly identified their attack as the weak link in their squad ahead of the summer transfer window and focused all their efforts into addressing the issue. Ruben Amorim bolstered his squad with Premier League experience by signing Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. Meanwhile, INEOS also made a significant investment in Benjamin Sesko, prising him away from RB Leipzig. While Mbeumo and Cunha have hit the ground running this season, the same cannot be said of the Slovenian. Sesko’s slow start to the season Sesko began the campaign on the bench, having missed pre-season with his new side. After making substitute appearances against Arsenal, Fulham and Burnley, the 22 year old was handed his first start in the EFL Cup second round against Grimsby Town. Unfortunately, Sesko failed to make an impact as United bowed out of the tournament at the hands of the League Two minnows. The Slovenian kept his place in the team for the Premier League clash with Manchester City, before dropping to the bench against Chelsea. However, he returned to the starting line-up for the following two games against Brentford and Sunderland, scoring in both games. Sadly, the youngster was unable to build on those performances and has so far registered just two goals in 11 appearances this season. Sesko also endured an off day against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, drawing criticism from club legend Gary Neville. However, it now appears that United are prepared to be patient with the youngster. United likely to further invest in Premier League stars Speaking to TEAMtalk, journalist Dean Jones said that United expected Sesko to take time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. “The performances of Cunha and Mbeumo compared to Sesko so far help us to understand why United have this view that signings from within the Premier League are preferable,” said Jones “They very clearly identified Mbeumo and Cunha as having traits and data that were repeatable and consistent. Sesko has not been as good as those two so far and to some extent that was expected.” Jones added that the recent success of Mbeumo and Cunha is likely to prompt INEOS to target Premier League proven-players such as Antoine Semenyo and Elliot Anderson. “I really do think this is why they continue to look at players like Semenyo, who is consistently good, as well as players like Anderson at Forest,” said Jones. “The fact they are at smaller clubs like Cunha and Mbeumo is also important. The problem of course is that any signing within the Premier League has its own issues in terms of how much you have to pay.” While Sesko has endured a slow start to life at the Theatre of Dreams, it would be unwise to write him off just yet. The Slovenian has scored 92 goals in 221 appearances across competitions in his senior career so far, and there’s no denying that United have a very talented striker on their hands. Benjamin Sesko: Career club stats ClubAppearancesGoalsAssistsYellow CardsRed CardsMinutes Played RB Leipzig873982-5,315′ Red Bull Salzburg792911314,151′ FC Liefering44226512,460′ Manchester United11211-676′ Red Bull Salzburg UEFA U19931–388′ AKA Red Bull Salzburg U1857—372′ Total2351022711213,362′ Source: Transfermarkt No player aged 23 or younger has scored more non-penalty goals since the start of 23/24 across Europe’s top five leagues than Benjamin Šeško (27). Underrated. 📈📈📈 pic.twitter.com/fE0BsBpjuq — Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) October 31, 2025 Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Deepungsu Pandit Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. He has worked for over seven years with Sportskeeda, writing football reviews, opinions and news articles. Deepungsu also maintains a blog, The Thinking Me, where he writes about life and things that interest him. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.