Benjamin Sesko is ready to begin his Manchester United career and cannot wait to follow in the footsteps of his football idol by playing for the Red Devils.
The Slovenian striker has arrived from RB Leipzig this summer in a deal worth £74m as the Red Devils completely revamp their forward line.
Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have also been signed from Brentford and Wolves respectively, while Marcus Rashford has departed on loan to Barcelona and United try and get rid of Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho.
Sesko is expected to lead the line with Mbeumo and Cunha in the roles behind him in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation, with Red Devils fans very excited about their new-look attack.
The 22-year-old is raring to get going and has given supporters an idea of what to expect by revealing that his role model is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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The 6’5″ new signing has long been a fan of the Swede, who scored 29 goals for Manchester United, and loves the way he approached the game.
‘He’s been my role model since I’ve been small,’ Sesko told MUTV of Ibrahimovic.
‘I’ve been watching him, like every single YouTube video that I can find, because he’s just amazing for me, you know.
‘We don’t have the same, let’s say, character. But I like to see him, the way he plays, the way he enjoys football, because that’s when all the joy comes, you know. If you enjoy football, then everything works. And I think this is the most important.
It’s probably also one of the parts that just makes me love him so much, you know what I mean? So maybe one day to meet him, that would be great. He’s my idol.’
Sesko and Ibrahimovic share imposing physical presences, coupled with incredible athleticism, but says he has tried to learn from very different Manchester United forwards as well.
‘Of course, I try to take some stuff from him,’ he said. ‘Especially like some similarities with the high kicks and power strikes.
‘For me, there’s [also] Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, all those kind of guys. I’ve also been watching them, of course, on the videos.’
Mbeumo also spoke of his love of a former Manchester United superstar when he signed, although he had a number of big name heroes.
‘My first top was Manchester United with Ronaldo behind,’ he said.
‘My favourite players changed with time. When I was really young, my two best footballers were Lionel Messi and Ronaldo. When I was growing up, Neymar. After that it was Eden Hazard.’
Cunha watched Manchester United growing up and picked out players who stood out to him as a youngster.
‘It’s always hard to talk because I remember the whole squad from the time I started to watch,’ he told MUTV on his arrival at Old Trafford.
‘In the front, Rooney, wow! Sometimes I think I have a lot of particulars in my game because I always give everything.
‘I remember he was the number 10, everyone loved the skills of the player in this shirt, but he brings always more. He goes to the grass to take the ball, you know like this kind of energy inside of him, he was a big example.
‘But of course, I can mention a lot of players. Ronaldo, everyone knows it is easy to talk about him. Ryan Giggs, everyone! I can see the team, Edwin van der Sar in goal, wow! Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in defence, Paul Scholes, wow, Michael Carrick. That team for me had a big impact on my teenage years.’