He didn’t feature in Saturday’s friendly against Fiorentina – but Benjamin Sesko is now officially a Manchester United player.
The Slovenian striker’s signing was announced a couple of hours before United’s final pre-season kickabout, with the big-money acquisition then paraded before the Old Trafford faithful.
Ruben Amorim’s side have secured Sesko’s signature from RB Leipzig, beating off competition from Newcastle United, for a reported fee of around £74m.
There’s already a wealth of United attacking midfield talent to choose from in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) – but can Sesko emerge as a standout forward option?
We take a look in this Scout Report.
Brief History
Snapped up by Red Bull Salzburg as a 16-year-old in 2019, he was immediately loaned out to the club’s feeder team in the Austrian second division, FC Liefering. He made his debut in the same year.
It wasn’t long before he made waves — scoring 21 goals in 29 appearances during the 2020/21 campaign and earning a call-up to Salzburg’s first team the following season.
Handed more responsibility in 2021/22, Sesko featured regularly in Salzburg’s attack, making 37 appearances, including six in the Champions League. He scored 11 goals and chipped in with six assists, helping Salzburg to the Austrian double.
In 2022/23, he turned it up a gear, scoring 16 goals in 30 league matches and securing a second consecutive league title.
This earned him a move to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in 2022. There, he adjusted quickly, netting 14 goals in his debut season across all competitions, despite often being rotated in a crowded forward line.
Sesko’s blend of athleticism, power and technical skill earned him comparisons to fellow Red Bull product Erling Haaland (£14.0m). His 2024/25 campaign cemented his reputation as he scored 21 times in all competitions, becoming a regular starter.
Sesko has 40 appearances under his belt for the Slovenian national team, too, scoring 16 times. He is also the youngest ever scorer in the country’s history.
Sesko: Playing style
Sesko is a powerful, right-footed centre-forward who featured predominantly in a front two for RB Leipzig last season, often paired with Loïs Openda in a flexible 4-4-2 or 4-2-2-2 system under Marco Rose.
Standing at 6ft 5ins, he offers a clear aerial threat but also possesses surprising agility for his size. His movements are intelligent and varied – and will often use his pace to either spin in behind or drop deep to link play.
Despite looking off-balance or applying little backlift, he consistently produces ridiculously powerful shots thanks to his lower-body strength. He prefers to strike with power, but can adjust quickly when dealing with deflected passes, poor touches, or scrappy build-up inside the box.
Sesko’s positional versatility also saw him drift into wide channels, particularly on the left, during his time at both Leipzig and Salzburg. From there, he would either cut inside for a shot or combine with overlapping runners. His ability to operate between the lines and beat defenders in tight spaces adds another dimension to his game, making him more than just a traditional no. 9.
Sesko: The Stats
| Season | Team | Starts (sub apps) | Mins | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/2025 | RB Leipzig | 30 (3) | 2399 | 13 | 5 |
| 2023/2024 | RB Leipzig | 17 (14) | 1532 | 14 | 2 |
| 2022/2023 | RB Salzburg | 23 (7) | 2027 | 16 | 4 |
| 2021/2022 | RB Salzburg | 8 (16) | 966 | 5 | 3 |
Sesko’s variety of goal attempts is impressive. Just over 20% of his efforts (and three of his 13 goals) in the 2024/25 Bundesliga came from his head, with a further circa 15% from his weaker left foot.
Over one-third (36.7%) of his 68 shots came from outside the box, too. That total of 25 outside-the-box efforts was more than any current FPL forward attempted last season. Liam Delap (£6.5m) was the nearest with 20.
Three of Sesko’s shots from outside the area resulted in goals.
It’s the trademark scoring of low-xG chances that has led him to massively overachieve on the expected goal front in each of the last two seasons:
| Season | Squad | League goals | League xG | League goals – xG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | RB Leipzig | 14 | 7.7 | +6.3 |
| 2024/25 | RB Leipzig | 13 | 10.0 | +3.0 |
You could look at this another way, of course.
Only four of his shots came from inside the six-yard box in 2024/25. That’s 13 fewer than Hugo Ekitike (£8.5m) managed in the Bundesliga last season. Erling Haaland (£14.5m) had a league-best 21 of those on these shores.
Two of Sesko’s 13 goals came from the penalty spot, too – and he’s surely unlikely to get spot-kicks at United.
Where Sesko fits in at United
Saturday’s friendly was about as good an advert for Sesko as the striker could have hoped for.
Mason Mount (£6.0m) led the line for United against the Serie A outfit, a week after Mathues Cunha (£8.0m) had done the same against Everton. In both cases, it was glaringly obvious that the Red Devils need a proper frontman.
So, once the Slovenian is up and running, it’ll likely be Sesko up top, with Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) operating as the two ’10s’ behind him. Those two will be feeding passes in behind to Sesko and also running off his shoulder when he holds up the ball.
While Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) will be used deeper as a result, could he still benefit?
Fernandes created more chances (91) than any other Premier League player last season. In fact, the Portuguese playmaker has topped the league for chances created in every campaign he’s played, except one – when he finished second.
This is quite staggering considering United have yet to fully capitalise on his creativity in the league. Fernandes will be eager for Sesko to start turning those chances into goals.
Mbeumo also ranked highly with chances created last season (70), further underlining United’s need for a true no. 9 at Old Trafford.
Is Sesko worth buying in FPL?
Still just 22, Sesko’s trajectory continues to rise — and Manchester United will be hoping he’s ready to lead the line at Old Trafford.
The Slovenian’s combination of height, speed, power and finishing instinct makes him an intriguing Fantasy option for 2025/26, particularly if he’s priced competitively.
But there are reservations.
The relative shortage of high-xG chances is one: he only averaged a shot in the box every 55 minutes last season. Perhaps playing as a main man up top, rather than as part of a two with Openda, could help – but then he’s also going to have runners like Cunha and Mbeumo playing off him.
And he won’t have penalties, like he did last season.
There’s the Bundesliga tax to consider, too…
Of the 22 strikers who have gone direct from the Bundesliga to the EPL only Marmoush and Firmino have improved their goals per game ratio. The average drop is 34%. Based on the chart , over a 38 game season, we predict Ekitike to score 10 & Sesko 11. @kieranmaguire pic.twitter.com/VniuYBsEft
— Jason Laws (@lawsyboy) August 5, 2025
…as well as United’s uncanny knack for turning big-money signings into utter flops. Romelu Lukaku, Antony (£6.0m), Jadon Sancho (£6.0m) and, more pertinently, Rasmus Hojlund (£6.5m) all arrived for more money than Sesko and tanked. Hojlund didn’t help himself but a minutes-per-shot average of 62.8 was one of the worst among FPL forwards last season, and indicative of the lack of service.
THE WORST FPL FORWARDS FOR MINS PER CHANCE LAST SEASON
With Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea in United’s first five fixtures, perhaps waiting a bit until adding him in would be wise. It would also allow us to see how he adapts to the new league and new club.
Given that he didn’t get any minutes in the final friendly against Fiorentina, you’d also question whether Amorin throws him straight in against Arsenal.
Gameweek 12 could be a good time to pounce if things are looking good, especially as this is around the busy December period. United are not in Europe, unlike nine other clubs, so their players are less prone to rotation:
With Hojlund seemingly on his way out after a difficult spell at Old Trafford, Sesko looks pretty good for minutes.
