Just two days after admitting that he turned down a big-money move to Manchester United, RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko wasted no time in showing Erik ten Hag and co what they are missing.
In his first outing since that Transfermarkt interview, Leipzig’s £20 million summer signing offered a ruthless reminder of the fact that, if you are going to give away chances inside the penalty area, make sure you do so when he is not on the pitch.
On only his second start for the Bundesliga challengers, Benjamin Sesko was served up the sort of opportunity a striker of his talents or instincts was never going to pass up. Slamming into the roof of the net after a horrific mix-up in the Wehen Wiesbaden defence.
Manchester United wanted Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko
If Sesko’s first of the DFB Pokal tie was gift-wrapped and delivered with a rosy red bow, then the second was all the 20-year-old’s own making.
Lashed into the top corner from the edge of the box. The goal which sealed Sesko’s brace showcased exactly why the former Red Bull Salzburg wonderkid has been labelled ‘one of the best talents in the world at his age’ by some.
The second coming of Erling Haaland by others.
“I think it was better just to come here,” Sesko tells Transfermarkt. Explaining his decision to swap Salzburg for their taurine-powered sister club despite interest from Manchester United.
“It was really important for me to go to a place that was playing a similar style of football. I already knew what to do and didn’t have to go through an entire learning process again.”
The new Erling Haaland?
With United betting heavily on Rasmus Hojlund – another of European football’s up-and-coming number nines – the Old Trafford ship may have sailed for Sesko. But, after five goals in just two starts at Leipzig, the silky Slovenia international remains understandably happy with how things are turning out for him in Germany.
Red Bull, it seems, really does give you wings.
“You are comparing me to someone (Haaland) who is one of the best players in the world,” Sesko adds. “I am my own player. The only thing that makes us kind of comparable is the height. But we have a very different style of play.
“I like him as a player, but I don’t like to compare myself to anyone. I just want to be myself.”
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