Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United forward Benjamin Šeško to adopt the trait of former Red Devil striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy as he looks for his first goal in England.
During the summer transfer window, Manchester United looked to eradicate their goalscoring concerns that they had adopted during the 2024/25 campaign.
Ruben Amorim’s side spent north of £200 million on Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Šeško, and Bryan Mbeumo, although only the latter has since opened his goal-scoring account at the club.
The Slovenian forward was brought in to replace the struggling Rasmus Højlund, and many expected him to immediately succeed, although the same issues have so far occurred.
With Šeško striving in pursuit of his first goal in United colours, Rio Ferdinand has offered the young striker some advice, and even suggested he copies the traits of former Red Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
Šeško urged to copy Nistelrooy trait
On the Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel, the legendary former United defender stated that Amorim’s new striker needs to be more demanding of his teammates to receive the service he requires.
“I think the responsibility goes to the striker now. In today’s game, there is enough at your disposal, technology-wise and clip-wise, that he can get it in black and white on an iPad and say, ‘When you got in that position, look where I am.’
“Amad, at the weekend, who I thought played well, was in a great position on the left side. Sesko pulled off the defender in the 18-yard box; he’s about 10 yards out. Amad’s just gotta roll it to him.
“He needs to be saying, ‘I’ll be there every time, when you get in that position, I will be here, so play it blind and I’ll be there, if I’m not there, then you can moan at me’.
“These are the conversations he needs to have because I know that Ruud was having them. I’ve seen Ruud van Nistelrooy walk in off the training field because [Cristiano] Ronaldo did too many step-overs, and he wasn’t playing it where he wanted it.
“He made a point of belittling Cristiano in front of the whole squad. That will be the making of him.”
Patience is needed with Šeško
Whenever a team signs a new, expensive striker, every supporter is desperate for them to immediately hit the ground running with an abundance of goals, although this is rarely the case.
Šeško’s only two starts in the league have come against Chelsea and Manchester City due to the 21-year-old not having a proper pre-season, and despite no direct goal contributions, he was a key factor in getting Robert Sanchez sent off at the weekend.
With United’s new-look front three, it certainly feels like a matter of time until things click, and maybe it will just take a run of kinder fixtures for them to get started.
The Reds face Brentford and Sunderland in their next two Premier League matches, and all of their new attackers will certainly be eager to get some goals under their belt.
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