Peter Schmeichel has praised Benjamin Sesko’s ‘instincts’ and character but is not sure the striker is completely ready’ to be a guaranteed starter for Manchester United just yet.
After a slow start to his Old Trafford career, Sesko has hit a hot streak in front of goal, netting eight times in his last ten appearances for the Red Devils.
A nine-game barren spell over a tricky winter period had some fans and pundits questioning United’s decision to splash out £74million on a 22-year-old centre-forward with no prior experience of English football.
But Sesko has developed a reputation as an impactful super sub since the turn of the year and there is a growing clamour for the Slovenia international to be entrusted with more starts under Michael Carrick.
Carrick gave Sesko the nod for United’s recent clash with Crystal Palace and the young attacker repaid his manager’s faith with what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
Sesko returned to the substitutes bench again after firing a blank at Newcastle, only to come on and score again to put United out of sight in the side’s 3-1 defeat of Aston Villa on Sunday.
Before kick-off, Carrick admitted it ‘wasn’t an easy decision’ to leave Sesko out of his starting XI considering his recent exploits in front of goal.
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‘We’ve just got a good forward line to choose from, and it’s just getting that balance right really from game to game,’ United’s interim manager said in his pre-match interview with Sky Sports.
‘Whether it’s starting the game, whether it’s the impact coming off the bench.
‘I think over the eight games really, I think we’ve had good impact in different ways coming off the bench, and I think that’s a big part of the game. So just trying to get that balance right.
‘It wasn’t an easy decision, but the boys have all adapted to it really well, and so they’re ready.’
In his post-match analysis on Viaplay, club legend Schmeichel said he understood Carrick’s call not to play Sesko from the off at the Theatre of Dreams.
The legendary 1999 treble winner was, though, keen to applaud Sesko for the way in which he had conducted himself both on and off the pitch in his debut season.
‘It’s great to have players where you think, when they come on, that there’s a chance, a very, very good chance, that they’re going to score,’ Schmeichel explained.
‘He’s got great instincts and we’ve seen this now in the last eight or nine games. His instincts are very good.
‘I’m not sure he’s completely ready to be a starting number nine in every game so I thought it was quite good of Michael Carrick to keep him on the bench and keep him hungry.
‘He’s come on and he is enthusiastic.’
Should Sesko start against Bournemouth on Friday?
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Yes
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No
Bruno Fernandes set up Casemiro and Matheus Cunha’s goals against Villa to up his assists tally to 16 in the Premier League this term – taking him past David Beckham’s record for an individual season as a United player.
After the game, Schmeichel’s Viaplay colleague Jaap Stam – the Dane’s former team-mate at Old Trafford – underlined the importance of keeping hold of Fernandes in United being able to achieve their ambitions.
The United captain has been linked with the Saudi Pro League since as far back as 2023 and admitted in December that this season could be his last with the club.
But when asked if he was confident Fernandes would stay put beyond the summer, Schmeichel replied: ‘Yeah, for sure.
‘If you think back to last summer, there was an opportunity to sell him to Saudi and the club would get about £100m for him.
‘That would have helped enormously with the state of the financials at the club.
‘Bruno said, “No! I don’t want to leave!”, and he could have made a ton of money but he loves the football club.’
The ex-Denmark goalkeeper added: ‘Having made that decision last summer, I cannot see anyone tempting him with whatever: better club, more money.
‘I think he loves it here. He’s the captain, he’s the biggest player here and the fans absolutely love him. I just can’t see it.’
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