It was a cameo that perhaps summed up Benjamin Sesko’s Manchester United career so far.
Introduced on the hour mark against Tottenham Hotspur, the Slovenian striker looked lively up against the likes of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, having twice got in behind the home backline late on.
Twice, the £74m signing was threaded through by fellow substitute Mason Mount, although – having scored just two goals for the club to date – he perhaps unsurprisingly failed to convert those promising openings.
These certainly weren’t gilt-edged, must score chances – with Van de Ven producing a stunning recovery challenge to deny the ex-RB Leipzig’s man second attempt – yet a striker in confident mood would likely have fared better.
To then add insult to injury, quite literally, Sesko sustained an injury issue in the midst of that sight of goal, subsequently forcing the visitors to see out proceedings with just ten men, as he hobbled down the touchline.
Fears mounted over the potential severity of that setback, and while the prognosis isn’t as worrying as first feared, it’s no doubt far from ideal.
How long Sesko will be sidelined for
The sight of Sesko being withdrawn late on in north London will have undoubtedly been an unwelcome one for Ruben Amorim, with the Portuguese coach already facing a notable upheaval in the forward line in the near future.
Indeed, both Amad and Bryan Mbeumo – alongside Noussair Mazraoui – are set to head to AFCON when the competition kicks off on 21 December, potentially ruling out the dynamic duo out of a string of games heading across the festive period and into the New Year.
Having allowed the likes of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony to depart over the summer, Amorim isn’t exactly blessed with attacking depth as it is, ensuring a further blow is far from ideal.
As reported by The Athletic, Sesko, thankfully, won’t be sidelined for a lengthy period, with it looking likely that the 22-year-old will only be absent for three to five weeks, thus perhaps limiting the need to acquire a suitable replacement or back-up in injury.
That said, United – who return to action against Everton on Monday – are heading into a typically hectic period in the Premier League calendar, with a string of games in the pipeline between now and the end of the year.
24/11/2025
Everton (H)
30/11/2025
Palace (A)
04/12/2025
West Ham (H)
08/12/2025
Wolves (A)
15/12/2025
Bournemouth (H)
21/12/2025
Villa (A)
26/12/2025
Newcastle (H)
30/12/2025
Wolves (H)
Whether Sesko will be back fit and firing in time to feature again in 2025 remains to be seen, with attention now turning to just how Amorim can replace him – starting against the Toffees next week.
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The most likely solution, of course, would be for the aforementioned Mount to return as part of the attacking trio, with Matheus Cunha – who led the line against Spurs – again nudged into a number nine berth.
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That being said, the Brazilian wasn’t exactly at his scintillating best against Thomas Frank’s side, losing possession 13 times from just 35 touches, as per Sofascore, amid a rare poor performance, having looked far more effective as one of the number tens against Brighton – the game in which he scored his first goal for the club.
With that in mind – and with 17-year-old Chido Obi still yet to be seen at first-team level this season – the chance may finally come for Joshua Zirkzee to re-establish a starting role for himself, having been a bystander to proceedings in 2025/26 to date.
As explored over the weekend, United’s “modern-day Berbatov” is running out of time at Old Trafford on current evidence, featuring for just 90 minutes in total across league and cup, while yet to start a Premier League game in the new season.
That limited role has come following an injury-hit summer for the Dutchman, although it has been telling that Amorim has typically turned to Cunha to lead the line when opting to take Sesko out of the firing line, with Zirkzee swiftly sliding down the pecking order.
Something of a cult figure at United now, after fighting his way back from being jeered off against Newcastle United last year, the 24-year-old does at least deserve an opportunity to impress once again, with there certainly still a player in there somewhere.
Seven goals in 54 games for the club to date doesn’t exactly make for great reading, although his quality was no doubt evident during his stint at Bologna, having ended 2023/24 as Serie A’s Young Player of the Year.
It was that form in Italian football which even led to “comparisons to Zlatan Ibrahimovic” – as noted by analyst Ben Mattinson – with the one-time Bayern Munich man described as “just like” the enigmatic Swede as he is an “insane athlete”.
The great ‘Ibra’ enjoyed a short but sweet stint at the Theatre of Dreams, netting 28 goals in all competitions in his solitary full season under Jose Mourinho, having swiftly cemented talismanic status as the club’s marquee number nine.
Zirkzee, evidently, is of different character and experience, but like Ibrahimovic, at 6 foot 4 he is still a real focal point when leading the line, ensuring he might be the best fit to try and replace Sesko at the top end of the pitch.
While a self-described ‘nine and a half’, Zirkzee’s route to game time does appear to be as a number nine in this side, with there still an intrigue to see what he can conjure up with the likes of Cunha and Mbeumo working off him.
As a man who netted twice in a 4-0 thrashing of Everton at Old Trafford last season, the £105k-per-week marksman could be the difference maker again this time around.
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