Manchester United are pushing to sign Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko.
Benjamin Sesko has emerged as Manchester United’s top striker target. United had been weighing up whether to move for him or Ollie Watkins.
The dilemma was real. Watkins was a ready-made forward proven in the Premier League, who had even played alongside Bryan Mbeumo before at Brentford.
Sesko is only 22 and Manchester United had been burned recently with an expensive move for Rasmus Hojlund, another player with potential.
United chose Hojlund instead of a more proven option, and have had to watch the Dane struggle to hit the heights expected of him.
There were very real fears among United fans that Sesko could repeat the Hojlund path. He is still a striker learning his craft, and not the finished product.
However, Rasmus Hojlund is not the only striker Manchester United have signed over the past decade.
Manchester United focused on signing short-term strikers
Under the Ed Woodward regime, Manchester United’s focus was on signing short-term fixes at the striker position.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo and even Odion Ighalo were four short-term fixes, that had some success.
Ibrahimovic struck 28 goals in his first year at United. Cavani had moments where he looked unstoppable in his first year at the club too, scoring 17 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return was a chaotic year, one where he still managed to score 24 goals including two hat-tricks.
And even Odion Ighalo briefly did what was asked of him in his unexpected loan spell, before the Covid update.
Short-term goals solved nothing for Manchester United
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goals yielded two trophies for Manchester United back in 2017. The efforts of Cavani, Ronaldo and Ighalo yielded no silverware at all.
But even taking into account Zlatan’s contribution in 2016/17, it came amid a dire league campaign in which the club finished sixth.
And within 18 months, manager Jose Mourinho was fired and Manchester United were forced to hit the reset button, sparking another cycle of change.
These short-term moves have only moved to plaster over the cracks, and have failed to build anything sustainable at Manchester United.
Manchester United fell apart last season, forced into another mid-season sacking and a worst ever Premier League finish.
A move for Ollie Watkins right now might suit the club in the short-term, but in three years he would need replacing again.
The aim with Benjamin Sesko, just as it was with Hojlund, is for Manchester United to find the centre-forward for the next decade.
Just because the gamble did not work out, yet, with Hojlund, does not mean United should revert into the cycle of targeting short-term fixes all over again.
Moving for Sesko is doubling down, taking another swing at a young talented forward, and hoping that a better infrastructure and team around him can make this particular signing work.
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