Gary Neville has now explained the importance of Benjamin Sesko stepping up in the same way as Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have done for Manchester United.
The 51-year-old Manchester United legend praised summer signing Benjamin Sesko for his stunning impact at Old Trafford in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League win.
Sesko made his first Premier League start under Michael Carrick and the 22-year-old in-form Slovenian forward netted a superb header in the 65th minute for United.
Speaking after Man Utd’s win over Crystal Palace, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said: “I have to say the goal from Benjamin Sesko is an absolute beauty. It’s a brilliant header, a proper header.”
“He’s got confidence now and he got a start today, which had to happen after his recent form. The confidence, the goals, the finishes… they’re some brilliant goals he’s scoring by the way.”
Benjamin Sesko’s turnaround has been pretty stunning! Should he start the next game?
Gary Neville on Benjamin Sesko needing to replicate what Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have already done at Man Utd
Benjamin Sesko has enjoyed a rich vein of form in recent weeks after club legend Michael Carrick returned to Old Trafford as interim head coach in January.
The Slovenia international has netted four times in his last six Premier League matches under Carrick, with five of his appearances coming from the bench.
Sesko was the difference-maker for Man Utd in the Crystal Palace match and Neville hailed the influence of former teammate Carrick on the Red Devils summer signing.
“He’s definitely improved enormously,” Neville said on Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.
“Michael Carrick never picked him in the team, he didn’t pick him in the team until today, so he’s obviously had doubts about him in terms of not being right or not being quite there.”
Neville added that Sesko has not been able to do the same as fellow summer signing Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha from the beginning, but he can do so now.
“The goal today is really good,” he explained.
“I think he’s working Sesko into form and that’s a game-changer for Man United because they cannot have another centre-forward come to the club and fail. They just can’t.
“[Bryan] Mbeumo and [Matheus] Cunha have looked like United players from the start, just in terms of their confidence, power and strength.
“But now if Sesko can grow – and he already looks physically better and quicker – then that is a big, big thing.”
Have you been convinced by Sesko like Carrick has?
He's in amazing form, but what else does he need to add?
Gary Neville explains the importance of Michael Carrick’s role on Benjamin Sesko at Man Utd
Neville suggested that if Carrick can ‘unlock’ Sesko’s true potential, then the Red Devils can focus on strengthening other key positions in the first-team squad.
“If Carrick can get the best out of him, that means in the summer you can concentrate on other positions, like in midfield with Casemiro leaving,” he said.
“You can concentrate maybe on a full-back and a centre-back because they do still have problems in those positions that need dealing with.”
United legend Neville added: “But maybe now you can leave the attacking players because you’ve got Sesko, Cunha, Mbeumo, Bruno [Fernandes], Amad [Diallo], [Mason] Mount – they will cause problems to any team.
“Michael Carrick has doubled or trebled the value of the United squad from where they were under Ruben Amorim. He’s made players that we doubted look like really good players.
“That will please the owners, of course, because there’s been so much waste it’s untrue. It’s a complete transformation.”
Sesko has scored nine times overall and registered one assist in 25 matches across all competitions for Man Utd since his 2025 summer move from RB Leipzig.
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