Manchester United's Striker Dilemma: Where is Benjamin Sesko?
Manchester United’s season is only three games old, but one question already hangs over Old Trafford like a floodlight: where is Benjamin Sesko?
The Slovenian striker has yet to start a match this campaign, his progress stalled by a shin injury that wiped out his entire pre-season. In his absence, Michael Carrick has turned to Matheus Cunha through the middle against Hull City, Ipswich Town, and Everton.
It hasn’t quite worked.
A Blunt Edge Through the Middle
Out wide, there is life. Bryan Mbuemo has carried threat. Marcus Rashford looks sharp again. United’s attacks, though, keep dying in the centre of the pitch, where a true No.9 should live.
Cunha, signed from Wolves last year, has often done his best work from the left flank, drifting inside, linking play, buzzing around pockets of space. As a lone striker, he looks like what he is: a forward searching for a defined role rather than a penalty-box bully.
Sesko, by contrast, offered a reminder of what United are missing the moment he stepped onto the pitch at Everton. One Luke Shaw cross, one towering header, one glimpse of a natural centre forward doing what natural centre forwards do. It should have been the winner.
Instead, Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck late at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and United walked away with a draw that felt like a defeat.
Scholes Turns Up the Heat
That performance did not sit quietly with Paul Scholes.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad, and The Football, the former United midfielder tore into the display at Everton and, more pointedly, the tactical choices behind it.
“I felt it was really timid against Everton,” Scholes said. “There was no aggression and Everton were there for the taking. There was so much space and they never went for the throat.”
For Scholes, the issue was not abstract. It was right there on the teamsheet.
“The centre forward position is a bit of an issue because he is not playing Sesko,” he continued. “He is a focal point. It is very difficult to watch a Manchester United team without a centre forward. With Cunha, we don’t really know what he is, a No.10 or a wide player but he’s definitely not a No.9 and watching United without a No.9 is a struggle.”
That is not gentle punditry. That is a club legend questioning the manager’s core idea of how his team should attack.
Carrick Under Pressure, City Looming
Carrick now finds himself squeezed between expectation and reality. Three league games have brought just four points from nine. Not a disaster, but nowhere near convincing.
Across the city, there is no such doubt. Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City arrive at Old Trafford with a perfect domestic record: three wins from three, three statements of intent. They look settled, ruthless, familiar with themselves.
United do not.
That contrast sharpens the focus on Sesko. Under Carrick last season, he delivered a goal every 85 minutes – a strike rate that screams “pick me” in neon letters. He is, on paper and in memory, exactly the kind of presence United’s attack currently lacks: a focal point, a target, a finisher.
Leave that kind of weapon on the bench against City and the questions will only get louder.
European Chance for a Statement
Before the derby, though, comes Europe.
On Thursday, Sabah FK visit Old Trafford in the Champions League. On the surface, it is a routine group-stage assignment. For Sesko, it could be something far bigger.
This is the kind of night managers use to test fitness, tweak shapes, and hand minutes to players on the fringes. For a striker coming back from injury, it is an ideal runway: lower intensity than a derby, but competitive enough to matter.
If Carrick starts him, Sesko gets the stage he needs. A goal, or even a performance that bristles with sharp runs and penalty-box menace, would strengthen his claim to lead the line against City. It would also give United’s attack a different feel – less improvisation, more structure around a central reference point.
If he stays on the bench, the debate will rage. If he plays and misfires, Carrick’s caution will look justified. But if he plays and delivers, the manager might have no choice by Sunday but to build his game plan around the No.9 Scholes insists United cannot do without.
The derby is coming fast. The question now is simple: does Carrick trust Sesko in time to stop City’s perfect start?
