Benjamin Sesko: Manchester United's Golden Boot Contender
Vladimir Smicer has thrown down a challenge to both Benjamin Sesko and Michael Carrick – play him, trust him, and Manchester United might just have a Golden Boot contender on their hands.
United head into the heart of the season with a curious imbalance. Sesko is the only recognised senior number nine in the squad, yet he remains on the fringes of Carrick’s Premier League plans. Matheus Cunha and Joshua Zirkzee can both operate through the middle, but neither is a natural penalty-box striker. Carrick has still chosen Cunha to lead the line in the league.
Sesko, meanwhile, waits.
The 23-year-old Slovenia international, signed from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2025 for £73.7 million, has been handed starts in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup but not once in the Premier League. Two goals in six appearances across all competitions hint at promise rather than dominance, flashes instead of a full show.
Smicer believes that show will come – if Carrick gives Sesko the stage.
“Benjamin Sesko can win the Golden Boot at Manchester United if they trust him to start games because of his size and he’s also very fast,” the former Liverpool midfielder told Grosvenor Sport, pointing to the striker’s towering header against Everton after coming off the bench. That goal underlined his threat. It did not, however, earn him a start in the Manchester derby. He was back among the substitutes.
For Smicer, this is the tension at the heart of Sesko’s United story: a player asked to be patient, again, yet also demanded to impose himself the moment the door opens.
“He has to be patient again after last season and wait for his chance, because he will get that chance, and when he does he needs to show that he deserves to keep his place,” Smicer said. The message was blunt. Talent is not enough. Hunger must match it.
“He needs to be more hungry for that opportunity, not just the goals, I think,” Smicer added, pushing the responsibility firmly onto the striker. This is not just about finishing chances. It is about leading the press, setting the tone, making it impossible for Carrick to look elsewhere.
“When he’s on the pitch, when he gets his chance from Michael Carrick, he must show him that from now on it’s only me who starts up front for the goals, for the pressing, for everything.”
That line cuts to the core of United’s attacking dilemma. Carrick has built a fluid front line, with Cunha drifting and linking play, Zirkzee offering versatility. Sesko is different. He is a focal point, a reference, a target. If he plays, United’s attack changes shape around him.
So far, Carrick has hesitated. Smicer hasn’t.
“I probably haven’t seen that from him yet but he needs to play. He can’t give his manager a choice,” Smicer insisted. Performances, not reputation, must force the issue. “Sesko needs to be the player whose performances tell Carrick you do not put on the bench again. I’m here. I need to play every game.”
The challenge is clear. United have their number nine. The question now is whether Carrick will build around him – and whether Sesko is ready to play like a man who refuses to sit down.
