Rio Ferdinand has compared Manchester United striker Benjamin Šeško to one of his former teammates, whom he describes as a ‘joke’.
Manchester United managed to pick up a hard-fought victory over Newcastle United in the latest instalment of the Premier League, as a Patrick Dorgu volley was enough to secure the three points.
Ruben Amorim’s side fought tooth and nail to pick up their second clean sheet of the season, as they managed to climb back up to sixth in the table.
The Reds’ final fixture of 2025 sees them host a Wolverhampton Wanderers side that has yet to pick up a victory in the league, and sits rock bottom of the table on a measly two points.
Despite not scoring since early October, Rio Ferdinand has spoken in support of United striker Benjamin Šeško, claiming that the Slovenian offers more than just goals.
Ferdinand’s Šeško comparison
Speaking on his YouTube podcast via Goal, the United legend said, “Sesko [offers more] than [just] goals. Yes, the strikers will be judged on their goals, but internally sometimes there are things that they bring to the table that you go, ‘You know what, that is huge’.
“You know who was like that? Louis Saha. He was never going to win the Golden Boot at Manchester United.
“But in terms of his value to the team, he was a joke, some of the stuff that he would do to enable others to play better. He would get us up the pitch at times, he would hold the ball for three or four seconds at times to give us a breather.
“Forget goals with him,” he said. “His all-round game… I was sitting there sometimes going, ‘Oh my God, I’m so happy he’s on our team’. I think with Sesko, listen, we still want to see the goals. But I’ve seen a few parts of his game that I go, ‘Oh the other players are liking that’. I can see it.
“Manchester United haven’t had a striker who can just hold it up or flick it on for ages. Like just a simple little thing, but effective.”
United need patience
Despite notching only two goals and one assist since joining the Red Devils in the summer, the Slovenian forward has shown that he has plenty more to his game than just goals.
The 22-year-old is still very young, but he seems to have a fairly polished skill set that allows him to cause trouble for defenders whenever he plays.
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Maybe Šeško won’t be the type of striker that wins a Golden Boot for United, but he is still an upgrade on what the Reds have been used to in recent years, and he will likely only improve.
With a nice run of fixtures on the horizon for United, hopefully, their new striker can turn his hard work into goals, as he aims to nail down a spot in Amorim’s starting XI.
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