Ruben Amorim ruthlessly discarded Rasmus Hojlund for Benjamin Sesko, and he’s now given an insight into how his new striker is already doing things they missed with the previous one.
Despite being the costliest signing of Man Utd’s transfer window, there are no prizes for guessing that Benjamin Sesko is more of a project player.
Sesko’s physical tools are tantalising, and if he puts them together, Man Utd will have one of the best in the world for a long time.
In the meantime, they need to look for small building blocks and positive signs, which, according to Ruben Amorim, Sesko is already doing more of than Rasmus Hojlund ever did.
Ruben Amorim on Benjamin Sesko vs Rasmus Hojlund
It’s no secret that Amorim didn’t rate Hojlund that much, considering he effectively froze him out entirely as soon as Benjamin Sesko’s signing inched closer.
Hojlund has started off well at Napoli, but the challenge and pressure that came with playing at Old Trafford had trapped him in a cycle of low confidence.
The basics weren’t being done right, and Sesko, despite not scoring as yet for United, has already shown more in that regard, as per Amorim.
The Man Utd manager was asked to assess Sesko’s short stint at United so far, and he namechecked Hojlund without being prompted, painting Sesko in a better light than his predecessor.
He said: “I think we need to look more at what he can bring to our team than what he did during games. If you see against Burnley, he had some movements, especially inside the box, that we didn’t have with [Zirkzee], [Cunha], and even with [Hojlund] in the past.
“He likes to go inside the box to have a header. He can run. We need to use him more as a runner. He’s going to improve. The pace [of Premier League] is different, but he’s going to get used to that.”
Amorim bringing up Hojlund is striking
Amorim compared Sesko’s runs to Matheus Cunha, Joshua Zirkzee, and Rasmus Hojlund, but the Danish striker’s presence is particularly striking.
Not just because Hojlund is no longer at the club, but because Cunha and Zirkzee are entirely different types of players, while Sesko and Hojlund are largely similar.
Amorim has effectively confirmed that Hojlund was not doing the basics right, which was expected of him, and that’s where Sesko is proving to be better.
It’s interesting because Hojlund thought of himself as better than Sesko, hence his determination to stay at United instead of moving.
However, if Amorim’s comments are any indication, the Dane was never going to get the chance again, once Sesko was signed, because he was no longer doing the basics in Amorim’s mind.
It could be due to a lack of confidence, or just plain regression in his game, but Hojlund had lost Amorim’s trust. The manager, bringing him up, unprompted in this conversation, confirms it.
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