Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko continued his hot streak in front of goal against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday.
Benjamin Sesko was booed by home supporters as he left the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night, but he did not flinch as he walked towards the team bus. The 22-year-old’s temperament is one of his biggest strengths.
Michael Carrick named Sesko on the bench for a sixth game in a row on Merseyside. Other players of a similar age might have sulked, but the Slovenia international has just got on with his job with no fuss.
Sesko delivered off the bench again to net his sixth goal in seven appearances. He is the most in-form striker in the Premier League, yet hasn’t made a start during Carrick’s interim tenure so far.
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The conversation in the build-up to the Everton game was about whether Sesko would get his first start under Carrick, who said, “I get why everyone is making a big deal out of it,” after the 1-0 win.
The calls for Sesko to start this weekend will be deafening. The striker has made himself impossible to ignore, although his response to a question about how it feels not to be starting spoke volumes about his character.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Sesko said: “We are talking, of course, but he [Carrick] believes in me, everyone believes in me. they are getting me ready to start as soon as possible. It’s more about me showing up when it’s important, no matter how many minutes I’m getting, I’m focusing on delivering and trying to help the team secure the wins.”
When asked whether being gradually bedded in had helped him this season, he responded: “Of course. I’m getting settled in the league from game to game. Again, I’m not even thinking about ‘I have to start, I have to start’.
“For me, it’s just whenever the coach decides to put them there or not, I’m just going to be there. If I get the next minutes, five minutes, I’m going to use them and for me it’s just about trying to enjoy and delivering for the team.”
Sesko copped flak earlier in the season from pundits. Gary Neville said he was “miles off it” compared to United’s other summer signings. Ruben Amorim even said he was “struggling a little bit”.
Sources at Carrington believe Sesko might not have seen Neville’s comment, as he is rarely on social media. He prefers reading books at home and watching basketball.
Sesko is embracing the pressure that comes with a £66.4million price tag, and a transfer to the biggest club in England. “For me, the way I look at the pressure, it’s something that, if I want to be a good player, I have to have. I take it as a privilege,” he said.
“It’s something that has [to be there] if you want to play at the highest level, and it’s about accepting it and not really caring about it. For me, it didn’t really affect me [the pressure to score goals this season] and I don’t think for Cunha and Bryan as well.”
Speaking about his relationship with Cunha and Mbeumo, Sesko said: “We are understanding each other. There is a lot on the training field where we are working a lot. It’s also the way Bryan made a pass [for the winning goal] because he saw that I was running, he saw that I wanted that ball.
“And obviously, with his quality to make a perfect pass because it’s also not easy to do that to put it directly there. That’s what it’s about, to have such quality in the team. Obviously, it looks so easy [to finish], but because you have so much time, many things are on your mind, but I chose one corner, and I went fully for that.”
Sesko has made an electric start to 2026, but he was keen to credit Carrick and his coaching staff for the work they have done at Carrington. “Everyone is working for each other and I said many times the coaching staff in general, not just Carrick, but also the others he has beside him are unbelievable,” he said.
“They are working on individuals and you can see that on the pitch. In the end, to win so many games and secure so many points, it’s made out of details and that’s how we get all these points.”
Travis Binnion, formerly Under-21 manager, has been a big help for Sesko. “After the trainings, it’s work in the box, on the edge of the box, short contacts because in the Premier League you don’t have time,” he explained.
“This is where it’s really helping me, and not just me, but also the other players. I’m really happy that I can work with [Binnion] because he’s helped me a lot.”
Speaking about his mental preparation, he added: “The most you can improve is on the pitch because the ball is, in the end, the thing that has to hit the net, and this is where the most work comes out. Obviously, it’s really important when I arrive home to do some work, which is really important for the mental part.”
A rumour circulated that Sesko had spoken to Dimitar Berbatov about his finishing technique. Sesko confirmed it was not true, but said it would be “nice” to speak to him before crediting the coaching staff again. “They are doing individual work each day, which is really helping me to focus,” he said.
Sesko politely said “thank you so much” when he was congratulated at the beginning of the five-minute chat. “As much as it means to me, it means more to our team to secure the win because it was a really tough game,” he said.
“We were fighting from the start. It was an interesting game, but even though in the end it was quite hard because of the corners, we were fighting and secured the win, which was really, really important.”
Sesko is becoming a key part of this United team – and his best years are ahead of him.
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