Manchester United icon Dimitar Berbatov has handed some excellent advice to the club’s new striker Benjamin Šeško and promised that it will result in goals.
Manchester United entered the summer transfer window searching for a new striker and ultimately secured Benjamin Šeško from RB Leipzig.
The 22-year-old, long admired by the club, had built a reputation as one of Europe’s most promising young centre-forwards.
However, his early days at Old Trafford have proven challenging. Despite three starts, he is still waiting for his first goal.
His most recent outing against Chelsea ended prematurely, as he was substituted at half-time following Casemiro’s red card late in the opening period.
Berbatov hands excellent advice to Šeško
United have had plenty of excellent strikers over the years and Dimitar Berbatov was perhaps the classiest of them all.
The Bulgarian did not have extreme pace or power but instead excelled through precision and elegance. His goal against Blackburn Rovers in 2010 is a perfect example of the type of striker he was. After a couple of one-twos to help United progress the play up the pitch, Berbatov ghosted into the area and Luis Nani found him on the penalty spot and he slotted the ball home calmly.
Berbatov recently played in a United Legends game and scored an extremely similar goal, with a cutback finding him in space around the penalty spot.
On his Instagram page, the United icon posted a video of the goal and explained how it can be useful for young strikers to score goals, and it is something that Šeško can learn from.
“I am going to turn this into a teachable moment for the young players,” Berbatov wrote. “Yes we are older now, yes it’s a charity game, yes the speed is slow, but this principle in football still applies.
“The defenders will always run towards the goal to defend it, so look for the space around the penalty spot… it’s always there, and you will score, I promise you! Know your teammates, look for the space, read the game, anticipate, be ready… have fun!”
Šeško can become unpredictable
Šeško is not the same type of striker as Berbatov but that advice is true for any centre-forward in the game. How many times did Wayne Rooney score from that exact zone?
The 22-year-old is still developing his game and this is something that would be great to see from him the more time he gets on the pitch.
Still, it is clear that his most useful trait is his ability in the air and that is something that should influence United’s wide men to play crosses into the box for him to attack.
But that also means that if Šeško can develop that movement, to hold his runs and find the space near the penalty spot, he will become a very unpredictable centre-forward.
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