Just like Napoli ace Rasmus Hojlund before him at Old Trafford, Benjamin Sesko has entered red-hot form for Manchester United in his debut season at the club.
Benjamin Sesko became the man to replace Rasmus Hojlund in the Red Devils frontline after his stunning 2025 transfer from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £73.7m.
Hojlund said last summer that he wanted to stay and fight for his place at Old Trafford, but the 23-year-old Danish forward’s hopes were ultimately dashed.
The on-loan Manchester United ace, who is at Napoli in the 2025-26 season, seemed a distant shadow of the in-form forward during his 2024 run when Sesko signed.
Rasmus Hojlund’s Man Utd form was explosive during the 2023-24 campaign, but it won’t be the same for Benjamin Sesko now
Rewind to Rasmus Hojlund’s Manchester United debut season and the 2025 Napoli signing went 14 Premier League matches without finding the back of the net.
However, the Danish forward had found success in the Champions League amid his barren Premier League form, with Hojlund netting four times in six matches in 2023.
Hojlund broke his 14-match goalscoring drought against Aston Villa in a 3-2 win at Old Trafford before kicking off his red-hot form in the final third in 2024.
The Denmark international netted in five consecutive Premier League matches for Man Utd from January to February 2024, including a brace against Luton Town.
Just when it seemed that Hojlund had entered unstoppable form for the Red Devils, the striker suffered a setback with a muscle injury and his streak never returned.
The writing was on the wall for the ex-Atalanta ace, but the same story might well be avoided by Benjamin Sesko because of the role of interim boss Michael Carrick.
Unlike Rasmus Hojlund, Benjamin Sesko’s surge of form has come through Michael Carrick’s careful management
Rasmus Hojlund was a regular starter under Erik ten Hag during his well-remembered goalscoring form in the 2023-24 Premier League campaign.
However, the United striker could not escape the immediate criticism that would eventually pile on top of him when he was unable to rekindle his red-hot form.
Sesko’s form has come as a bit of a surprise because of Michael Carrick’s preference to use Bryan Mbeumo as the lone forward in his attacking set-up for Man Utd.
The 22-year-old Slovenian forward has seen the pressure eased on him in recent weeks and his confidence in the final third was built up coming off the bench.
Sesko netted three times after coming on as a substitute under Carrick before the in-form Red Devils forward had to start in Man Utd’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
The Red Devils summer signing made an impact again on Sunday afternoon at Old Trafford, with Sesko ultimately scoring Man Utd’s winner against Crystal Palace.
While Sesko has scored seven times in his last eight appearances across all competitions, he won’t suffer the same fate as Hojlund if his form blips.
After all, Carrick has found the formula to manage Sesko’s integration carefully and is not as overly reliant on the in-form striker as Erik ten Hag had to be with Hojlund.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/75EIbtp