Sesko Debate Dominates Manchester United Derby Build-Up

Benjamin Sesko has barely kicked a ball for Manchester United this season, yet his name suddenly sits at the centre of the club’s biggest week so far.

The Slovenian striker missed the entire pre-season with a shin injury and is still waiting for his first start of the campaign. In his absence, Michael Carrick has pushed Matheus Cunha into the No.9 role against Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton.

It has not convinced everyone. Far from it.

Wide men firing, middle misfiring

Out wide, United look lively. Bryan Mbuemo has started sharply. Marcus Rashford, too, has found early rhythm. The threat is there on the flanks.

Through the middle, it isn’t.

Cunha arrived from Wolves last year with a reputation for drifting in from the left, linking play, buzzing between the lines. He is not a classic penalty-box striker, and United’s attack has reflected that. They have moved the ball, found space, but lacked a ruthless edge at the heart of it all.

Sesko reminded Old Trafford what a real focal point looks like with one moment against Everton. Rising to meet a Luke Shaw cross, he powered in a superb header that screamed “centre forward” in a way no tactics board can. Yet United still walked away from the Hill Dickinson Stadium with only a point, undone by a late equaliser from Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

The goal showed what Sesko brings. The result underlined how little margin for error Carrick has.

Scholes: “Timid” United and a missing No.9

Paul Scholes has seen enough. Speaking on The Good, The Bad, and The Football, the former United midfielder tore into the display at Everton and, more specifically, the decision to go without a recognised striker.

“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.”

He didn’t stop there. For Scholes, the issue is structural, and it starts with the team sheet.

“The centre forward position is a bit of an issue because he is not playing Sesko,” he added. “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 a gentle nudge. It is a demand for change.

Carrick under pressure as City loom

The timing could hardly be more brutal for Carrick. Three league games in, United have scraped together four points from a possible nine. Not disastrous, but nowhere near the standard demanded, and certainly not with Manchester City rolling into town.

On the other side of the city, Enzo Maresca has made a perfect start. Three games, three wins, a flawless domestic record and a familiar sense of early-season authority. City will arrive at Old Trafford not just confident, but expectant.

United, by contrast, look like a team still searching for their shape and their spearhead.

This is where Sesko’s numbers from last season matter. Under Carrick, he delivered a goal every 85 minutes. That is not promise. That is production. For a side short of bite in the box, leaving that kind of weapon on the bench feels like a gamble.

European stage, derby audition

Before City, though, comes Europe.

Sabah FK visit Old Trafford on Thursday for a Champions League tie that suddenly feels like more than just a routine group fixture. For Sesko, it could be the runway back to full involvement: minutes in his legs, rhythm in his movement, sharpness in the penalty area.

If Carrick starts him, the night becomes an audition. If he brings him on, every run and every touch will still be judged with Sunday in mind.

United need a way to disrupt City’s early charge. They need a focal point, a target, someone who drags centre-backs where they don’t want to go and punishes any hesitation. Sesko has already shown he can be that player.

Now the question hangs over Old Trafford: will Carrick trust his No.9 when the champions come calling, or stick with the experiment that has already tested the patience of one of the club’s fiercest critics?