Rene Aufhauser, former coach of Benjamin Šeško and Erling Haaland, has made a bold claim comparing the two before the Manchester derby on Sunday, 14 September.
Benjamin Šeško hasn’t had the opportunity to showcase his true ability in a Manchester United shirt just yet, with only cameos from the bench in the Premier League.
While the Slovenian started the Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town, he was rarely involved in play as the other players simply couldn’t cope with the pressure put on by the League Two side.
Šeško joined Rúben Amorim’s squad after the last pre-season game against Fiorentina, so he didn’t have a chance to start the first game against Arsenal, but he could be in the starting lineup to face Manchester City on Sunday.
Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount are both doubts ahead of the derby, and Šeško could take one of their places, with Kobbie Mainoo coming in for the other.
Like Rasmus Hojlund before him, Šeško has been compared with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, but unlike the Denmark international, Šeško has experience in the same clubs as Haaland.
Former coach compares Šeško and Haaland
Before signing for RB Leipzig, Šeško played for RB Salzburg in the Austrian top flight, as did Haaland before signing for Borussia Dortmund. Their careers have followed very similar paths.
One former coach of the two strikers, Rene Aufhauser, spoke to Sky Sports ahead of the Manchester derby, he said: “Erling Haaland, I will rate him 10 out of 10.
“I think Erling is [an] outstanding striker and Benji [Šeško], I think at the moment maybe he’s a nine, nine and a half out of 10. And he has potential. He will develop in the next one and two years, I’m sure.
“Erling reached his mark after his transfer from Dortmund to Man City and we will see. I am quite sure Benji will reach this mark after one or two years. But, of course, Erling is the top. He has 10 out of 10 from me.”
Should Šeško start the derby?
With Cunha likely to be absent – although he has suggested he could return in time for Sunday – Šeško would be the natural choice to replace him, but Joshua Zirkzee was the man to come on against Burnley when Cunha went off injured.
If both Cunha and Mount are unavailable, Bruno Fernandes will likely push up into the frontline with Mainoo or Manuel Ugarte coming in alongside Casemiro.
While Zirkzee has impressed recently, his skillset favours a possession-based approach, and Manchester City will almost definitely dominate the ball at the Etihad on Sunday.
Therefore, Šeško could be the man to lead the line, and his pace in behind could cause the City defenders a big problem if Amorim’s side hit on the break.
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