Signing Benjamin Sesko is a calculated gamble for Manchester United

Manchester United are reportedly in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. It is a risk – but one worth taking.

Ruben Amorim could be closing in on his third major signing of the summer transfer window, and he will be hoping that negotiations with the Bundesliga side are not as torturous as they were with Brentford for Bryan Mbeumo.

That deal took weeks when the details were already known. Brentford wanted a set price, and United dithered until – guess what – they met the valuation and the player was theirs. 

In the past it had appeared that Ed Woodward was the reason for the disorganisation and prevarication when it came to signing players. Last minute, unwanted names, short-term fixes that only ended up breaking things. When he left, little changed, and Jim Ratcliffe has already appointed and got rid of Dan Ashworth in a move that suggests key figures at the top are still learning on the job.

No matter, with Mbeumo, Sesko and Matheus Cunha, that is a front three that is potentially worthy of Old Trafford billing. Both Mbeumo and Cunha can point to track records of performing well in Premier League also-rans. Between them they can provide creativity, versatility and goals. What is missing is a central threat, someone who can make Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirzkee an irrelevance at best, and a Plan B at worst.

Moving on from Viktor Gyokeres

To do that, they need a player who can operate through the middle. Initially it was thought that Amorim’s presence would ease them into the lead for Viktor Gyokeres, but quite understandably he passed over the chance in favour of Arsenal, who can provide Champions League football and stability in the season before the 2026 World Cup.

Ollie Watkins v Benjamin Sesko

Reportedly under consideration are Ollie Watkins and Sesko. Watkins has the same vital qualifications as Mbeumo and Cunha. He knows the league, and has shown he is more than a brief flash of excellence. Instead, he has done it season after season. He has international experience too. However, United are focused, for now, on Sesko.

It’s hard to see this as anything other than a gamble by United. Sesko is just 22, and has only two seasons in top-flight football. His international experience comes with minnows Slovenia. He has only played 64 league games in an exacting competition. Coming with a transfer fee that might reach £70 million does suggest United are panicking as the first game of the season against Arsenal draws near. Like Bruno Fernandes, the board are aware that confidence is ebbing away already as other sides land bigger and bigger names.

However, Sesko has plenty in his favour. At six foot five, he is physically imposing in a way that the previously physically slight United have lacked. Amorim needs a player to control play through the middle so the players either side of him can operate close up, and so that wing-backs have a target man to focus on. He is no lumbering oaf, so this could be the first United team since Alex Ferguson who are capable of using pace as a weapon. 

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Since the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, United have not had a reliable striker, but Sesko has scored almost a goal every other game. Amorim’s whole squad last season managed barely double that between them. At 22, he has almost as many career goals as Hojlund and Zirkzee combined.

Of course, there are no guarantees in football, and United in particular have been a hospital pass for more than a handful of careers in recent years. But Sesko might have the ability to cut through the Old Trafford curse.