Benjamin Sesko's Path to Golden Boot at Manchester United
Vladimir Smicer has thrown down a clear challenge to both Benjamin Sesko and Manchester United manager Michael Carrick: trust the striker, and he could become Old Trafford’s Golden Boot winner.
United head into the heart of the season with a curious imbalance. Sesko is the only recognised senior number nine in the squad, yet he is still waiting for his first Premier League start. Carrick has preferred Matheus Cunha through the middle, while Joshua Zirkzee has also been used centrally despite neither being a natural out‑and‑out striker.
Sesko, signed from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2025 for £73.7 million, has had to make do with a supporting role in the league. The 23-year-old Slovenia international has been given starts in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, scoring two goals in six appearances across all competitions, but domestically he remains on the fringes.
For Smicer, that makes little sense.
“Benjamin Sesko can win the Golden Boot at Manchester United if they trust him to start games because of his size and he’s also very fast,” the former Liverpool midfielder told Grosvenor Sport, pointing to the towering forward’s impact off the bench. He highlighted Sesko’s headed goal against Everton as evidence of what the striker can offer when unleashed, even if he found himself back among the substitutes for the Manchester derby.
Smicer’s message to Sesko, though, is as demanding as it is supportive. Patience, yes — but not passivity.
“He has to be patient again after last season and wait for his chance, because he will get that chance, and when he does he needs to show that he deserves to keep his place,” Smicer said. “He needs to be more hungry for that opportunity, not just the goals, I think.”
The call is for Sesko to dominate, not just participate. To make himself impossible to ignore.
“When he’s on the pitch, when he gets his chance from Michael Carrick, he must show him that from now on it’s only me who starts up front for the goals, for the pressing, for everything,” Smicer insisted. “I probably haven’t seen that from him yet but he needs to play. He can’t give his manager a choice.”
It is a blunt assessment: Sesko has the tools, but he must turn cameos into a case. Performances, not potential, will decide his fate.
“Sesko needs to be the player whose performances tell Carrick you do not put on the bench again,” Smicer concluded. “I’m here. I need to play every game.”
For United, with only one true centre-forward on the books, the question now is simple: how long can Carrick keep that kind of conviction on the sidelines?
