Dimitar Berbatov believes that Manchester United’s new striker Benjamin Sesko needs to show a nastier side to his game if he is to flourish at Old Trafford.
Sesko was United’s most expensive signing of the summer window, arriving for £74million from RB Leipzig as part of the club’s overhaul of their attacking options.
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo also arrived at Old Trafford over the off-season as the Red Devils made it a clear priority to revitalise their forward line after a dismal season in front of goal last time out.
But while the aforementioned Cunha and Mbeumo have wasted no time getting up to speed – both scoring in United’s 3-2 win over Brighton last weekend – Sesko has endured a more subdued start to life at Old Trafford.
The Slovenian international scored his first two Premier League goals in back-to-back games before the most recent international break, but was also benched for United’s superb win over Liverpool at Anfield.
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An impressive display against Brighton, which saw Sesko set up Mbeumo for United’s third, gave more cause for optimism, but Berbatov still wants to see the 22-year-old impose himself more and demand better from his teammates.
‘Be confident in yourself. Be arrogant in a way that you demand the ball from your team-mates when you make the run,’ Berbatov said when asked on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast what advice he would give to Sesko.
‘And when you make a good run, if the ball doesn’t come for you, say it or express it in a way that your teammates will understand that, ‘I am here. I’m making the run for you. Respect my run. Not every time but try to see me and believe in what I can do with that run’.
‘Sometimes be angry. Scream, swear at him, whatever. [It’s] not personal. Just in a way that I’m here, man. That’s why I’m here. Just give me the ball. Pass to me. I will try to score for you.
‘Half-time, before and after the game, speak. Sometimes I think the players need to be more aggressive and emotional, in a way like, ‘Pass me the damn ball, man!’
Berbatov continued: ‘Be angry with your team-mates. Not always polite and best friends and buddies. Be more angry. Demand more from each other.
‘Whoever is in the position of being the captain, be the one to demand more from yourself and from them.
‘In the end, it comes down to the goals for the strikers. If they don’t score enough goals, people will be on them.
‘If you’re someone who can stay in the box, then train on that. Be in the box. Training session after training session on the empty goal. Someone to give you the ball, just do tap-ins. Get into the habit of scoring that easy goal as well.’
Speaking after United’s win over Brighton, former United full-back Gary Neville admitted there were still ‘question marks’ over Sesko, and said Ruben Amorim must work hard to get the best out of his marquee striker.
‘There’s question marks over Sesko,’ Neville said. ‘I think he was a bigger risk as a signing. It doesn’t look like he’s quite settled in yet. It would be nice if it could start to look like a front three. It still feels like a front two, with him stood up there. I think that’s the big job over the next couple of weeks.
‘It’s more than the goals; it’s the inclusion within the combinations that you see from the others. You see Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount, who wasn’t playing today, linking very successfully with Mbeumo and Cunha. You don’t quite see Sesko being part of that mix yet.
‘He’s not got up to the pace of it, with how quickly they’re playing with each other. He needs to get his game up to speed and that will only come through time. Obviously, he’s still quite young but he just needs to get there.
‘He’s a big signing, and if they can become a front three, that will be huge. It still feels like a two with another guy stood up there occupying space.’
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