{"id":322335,"date":"2025-08-06T11:10:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T11:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/322335\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T11:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T11:10:16","slug":"former-manchester-united-coach-raises-red-flags-over-benjamin-sesko-transfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/322335\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Manchester United coach raises red flags over Benjamin Sesko transfer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Man United are hopeful of completing the signing of Benjamin Sesko from German club RB Leipzig this summer.United are closing in on Benjamin Sesko.(Image: 2024 Simon Hofmann – UEFA)<\/p>\n

Rene Meulensteen has concerns over Benjamin Sesko’s proposed Manchester United transfer.<\/p>\n

The Manchester Evening News reported on Wednesday that United are confident Sesko prefers a move to Old Trafford<\/a>, following interest from Premier League competitors Newcastle.<\/p>\n

Newcastle have offered a higher package for Sesko, but the player’s preference is set to be decisive. United have already beaten Eddie Howe’s side to the signing of Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford this summer.<\/p>\n

Sesko has 39 goals in 87 appearances for RB Leipzig, but he is unproven in the Premier League, which wouldn’t have been a concern if United had advanced with their interest in Ollie Watkins.<\/p>\n

Having been rejected by Liam Delap earlier in the window, United were left to choose between Watkins and Sesko. But Aston Villa insisted Watkins was not for sale, while Leipzig were receptive to talks.<\/p>\n

And Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant Meulensteen believes a move for Sesko is a risk. “United\u2019s bid for Sesko is basically exactly what they did with Rasmus Hojlund,\u201d Meulensteen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he scores in the first three or four games and hits the ground running then he could be the answer for the club, but there\u2019s a chance that won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at Hojlund, he joined Atalanta and performed well alongside the rest of the team and then joined United. The same can be said for Sesko \u2013 the Bundesliga is a very different league to the Premier League<\/a>, so he\u2019ll need to adapt.<\/p>\n

“Has Sesko got potential? 100%, but he\u2019s still young and developing and he isn\u2019t the finished article.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same interview with Poker Strategy, Meulensteen explained why he would have preferred a move for Watkins. \u201cI look at someone like Watkins who may be available,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a hard-working player with similar features to Sesko, except that he already has Premier League experience, which is priceless. I think Sesko would probably cost more than Watkins, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t the club bring in Watkins and allow the coaches to work closely with Hojlund to allow him to develop? It\u2019s a waste of an investment otherwise \u2013 they paid close to \u00a380m for him and they\u2019re in danger of selling him for less than half of that unless he develops.\u201d<\/p>\n

United have a longstanding interest in Sesko, whose agent met football director John Murtough three years ago and visited Old Trafford before agreeing a deal with Leipzig.<\/p>\n

Sesko has scored 16 goals in 41 games for Slovenia and featured for his country at Euro 2024.<\/p>\n

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—<\/p>\n

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we\u2019re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.<\/p>\n

Make sure you don\u2019t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here<\/a><\/strong> to subscribe.<\/p>\n

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here<\/a><\/strong> to be sent all the day\u2019s biggest stories.<\/p>\n

And finally, if you\u2019d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify<\/a><\/strong> and Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/strong>, and you can also watch along on YouTube<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Man United are hopeful of completing the signing of Benjamin Sesko from German club RB Leipzig this summer.United…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,423,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-322335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-united-fc","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114981518645920895","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}