On the same weekend Rasmus Hojlund opened his Napoli account, Benjamin Sesko drew a blank in Sunday’s Manchester derby.
Manchester United fell to a 3-0 loss at Manchester City as Erling Haaland bagged a brace after Phil Foden had headed the Citizens ahead in the first half.
Man Utd had hoped to land their own Haaland with Hojlund last summer. They have a chance to make amends with Sesko, who only managed one short at the Etihad Stadium. It was a baptism of fire for the 22-year-old and he was ultimately withdrawn in the 80th minute having managed only 19 touches.
Sesko has the physical qualities to succeed in the Premier League but he needs refining. The issue is… Hojlund also boasts physical similarities, and the young Dane looked absolutely hopeless at Old Trafford. So, will Sesko fall foul to the United system the way Hojlund did, or will he be the one to rectify the club’s striker issues?
In this article, we’ll look at:
Is Sesko getting his shots away?
One critique of Hojlund was that he struggled to routinely get his shots off. Granted, the support act has improved considerably over the summer, with the additions of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha replacing Alejandro Garnacho and allowing Bruno Fernandes to drop deeper.
Even so, the former Atalanta man managed just 1.2 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season. It’s a small sample size, but this is a significant drop in Sesko’s average of 2.9 shots per 90. That’s actually more than the towering Slovenian managed for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga last season (1.9). Granted, Sesko has managed a shot accuracy of just 20% from his opening four outings, three of which have been off the bench. But as the old saying goes: You don’t win the raffle if you don’t buy a ticket.
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What’s key is that Sesko is more than willing to get his efforts away and it’s only a matter of time before he gets among the goals. While he endured peaks and troughs at RB Leipzig, once Sesko builds up an understanding with his new teammates, he’ll prove why Man Utd were prepared to break to bank to secure his services.
- Hojlund shots per 90 in 2024-25: 1.2
- Sesko shots per 90 in 2025-26: 2.9
Creating for teammates
In Ruben Amorim’s favoured 3-4-2-1 setup, the lone striker needs to be able to provide for teammates. Viktor Gyokeres did so impressively during the pair’s time together at Sporting CP, and Amorim will task Sesko to repeat that link up play at Old Trafford. This isn’t exactly to strength to Sesko’s game. The youngster provided just seven assists in two Bundesliga seasons. But the early signs at Man Utd are promising.
Sesko is currently averaging 1.2 chances per 90 in a Man Utd shirt, and his standing means he’s able to hold off markers and bring teammates into play. Hojlund, meanwhile, created just 0.8 chances per 90 in the Premier League last season. Admittedly, the attack line has upgraded over the summer, meaning Hojlund never had the benefit of working alongside the likes of Mbeumo and Cunha.
Yet for a striker who actually managed a more impressive 1.2 chances created per 90 during the 2022-23 season with Atalanta, many had expected a greater creative output from Hojlund. Instead, they watched on as the Napoli man registered just two league assists in two years.
- Hojlund chances created per 90 in 2024-25: 0.8
- Sesko chances created per 90 in 2025-26: 1.2
Link up play
With quality attackers in support in the form of Mbeumo and Cunha, Sesko’s all-round link up play needs to be at the top of his game. The aim will be for the summer signing to play his part in bringing the fellow new signings into play, which given their respective goal hauls for Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers last season, is key.
This is actually an area where Hojlund last season outshone Sesko this campaign. The former averaged 20.9 passes per 90 with a 74.29% pass accuracy in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign, an increase on Sesko (18.6 and 72.73%, respectively) this season. Who knows how Hojlund may have really fared had he been granted the chance to play on Man Utd’s new-look frontline.
However, Sesko has proved his ability to link up with teammates as he managed 22.6 passes per 90, albeit with a 68.22% pass accuracy for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. Getting him minutes now is key as Man Utd look to see a return on £150m+ they spent to overhaul their attack in the off-season.
- Hojlund passes per 90 and pass accuracy in 2024-25: 20.9, 74.29%
- Sesko passes per 90 and pass accuracy in 2025-26: 18.6, 72.73%
Sesko may have struggled on his full Man Utd debut, but so too would any striker in a disjointed side at the home of rivals Man City. Amorim needs to persist with Sesko now rather than drop him out of the side in favour of Joshua Zirkzee in order to give the RB Leipzig man the best chance of succeeding at Old Trafford rather than falling foul of the system in the same way Hojlund did.