All the positivity, all the talk of squad harmony, quickly evaporated within the opening 45 minutes on Saturday afternoon, with Manchester United having been outfought and outthought by newly-promoted Hull City.
There appeared to be a sense of surprise among the United camp that the hosts had deployed a back five from the outset, yet the inability to react to that tactical change was alarming, with Hull’s wing-backs causing chaos for a limp United defence.
In attack too, only Bryan Mbeumo really tested Konstantinos Tzolakis in the opposition goal, the Red Devils looking desperately short of ideas even when chasing the game late on.
While arguably still short of match fitness, the introduction of Benjamin Sesko did little to impact proceedings, with the Slovenian’s role and status under Michael Carrick still to be determined.
Analysing Sesko’s Hull City cameo in numbers
It could have been the perfect chance for Sesko to build some momentum this summer, the 23-year-old one of a handful of senior players not involved at the World Cup with his country.
Having largely been restricted to supersub status under Carrick in 2026, a fruitful pre-season might well have seen the former RB Leipzig man force his way into contention to start the new Premier League campaign as the leading number nine.
Instead, what appeared to be a relatively innocuous injury sustained against Liverpool back in May has proven far more of a setback than expected, the 6 foot 5 striker unable to play a single minute across pre-season.
The £74m signing isn’t yet at match sharpness, and it showed at the weekend, with Sesko struggling to really get involved as United’s biggest attacking threat arguably came from the rampaging Harry Maguire.
The ball did fall to United’s number 30 inside the area late on, although he was unable to sort his feet, failing to produce the type of finish he executed in style to seal the win against Fulham earlier this year.
That outing against the Cottagers was one of many where Sesko stole the show as a substitute, but there was no repeat at the MKM Stadium, as he made just six touches in 23 minutes on the pitch, losing the ball twice.
He did complete 100% of his passing, yet won just one of his seven duels contested, not exactly proving the focal point the away side needed.
|
Sesko vs Hull City |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Record |
|
Minutes |
23 |
|
Touches |
6 |
|
Passes |
3/3 |
|
Shots |
1 |
|
Ball lost |
2 |
|
Dribbles |
0/1 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Ground duels |
0/3 |
|
Aerial duels |
1/4 |
|
Carries |
1 |
It is still early days, of course, but there remains a nagging feeling that another centre-forward is still required.
How Man Utd could upgrade on Sesko before the deadline
The situation surrounding United’s striker search is likely set to depend on the future of Joshua Zirkzee, the Dutchman not even making it off the bench at all last time out.
Should the 24-year-old, who has been linked with a return to Serie A, seal an exit any time soon, INEOS would be wise to bring in reinforcements.
Football FanCast sources have revealed that talks have been held regarding a deal for Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, although the financial package required to sign the Nigerian is set to prove a significant obstacle.
One alternative might well be Juventus’ Jonathan David, and according to reports, United are among the clubs in the mix for the Canadian’s signature.
There is the suggestion that talks have been held already, with the Old Trafford side made aware, via intermediaries, that the Italian giants are open to a sale.
David, who has also caught the eye of Arsenal and Aston Villa, could cost up to $46m (£34m), with the player seemingly keen to join, amid his ‘personal desire’ to play in England.
Now, it hasn’t exactly been a fruitful spell in Turin for the 26-year-old, having scored just eight goals in 46 games to date, yet he is fresh off netting three goals in five games at this summer’s World Cup.
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The Brooklyn-born Canada star has hit 42 goals in just 82 games for his country, with it fair to say that his time in Italy is the only period where he hasn’t really found his groove in front of goal.
Having started out in Belgium, he scored 37 in 83 games for Gent, prior to proving prolific for Lille, scoring 109 in 232 games for the French outfit.
That included a return of 87 goals in 187 games in Ligue 1, scoring 13 goals or more in each of his five league seasons at the club, prior to leaving in 2025.
Such a stellar run of consistency, which peaked at 24 Ligue 1 goals in 2022/23, is something which Sesko, while three years younger, hasn’t yet come close to.
Operating in one of Europe’s big five leagues across the last three seasons, including his time in Germany, Sesko has hit double figures in each of those, yet has scored just 14, 13 and 11 goals respectively, yet to really hit the heights that David showed in France.
Of course, Sesko did outscore the Juve man last season, but that is an outlier in recent years, with it also worth noting what David offers out of possession.
Indeed, he did register five assists in all competitions last season, ahead of Sesko’s tally of one, boasting almost double the career tally of assists of the current United man (51 vs 26).
Having proven what he can do in both Belgium and France, for a fee of around £34m, David feels like a no-brainer for INEOS this summer.
