Man Utd ‘waste of investment’ ‘resigned’ to exit as Red Devils make same mistake with Sesko
Manchester United star Rasmus Hojlund is now ‘resigned’ to the Old Trafford exit while the Red Devils make ‘exactly’ the same mistake with Benjamin Sesko.
The RB Leipzig striker looks set to snub Newcastle for Man Utd this summer, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein:
‘Newcastle initially tabled €75million plus €5m in add-ons, before raising that on Monday to at least €80m. Within 24 hours, Manchester United made a proposal of their own worth €75m plus €10m.
‘Newcastle have continued working to secure the transfer and on Tuesday a bid of €82.5m plus €2.5m was accepted by Leipzig. But Sesko wants to join Manchester United and all parties are now aware of that, as talks advance in an effort to satisfy Leipzig’s expectations. While there is no club-to-club agreement yet, the situation is moving in that direction.’
United’s push to sign a new No.9 has put Hojlund’s future at the club in doubt, with the club bosses now said to be more than open to his sale.
After scoring in the pre-season win over Bournemouth last week, Hojlund said: “I think the most important thing for me is just to keep working hard and stay focused, and then obviously we’ll see what happens.”
“I think my plan is very clear, and that is for me to stay and fight for my spot, whatever happens. I’m still very young. I think people forget that sometimes. I’m only 22.
“Obviously, not every striker is scoring 100 goals at the age of 22 (like Erling Haaland). But I’ve learned a lot, I think you can see in my game. I’m starting to develop and become even better in the basics.
“Now it’s just about for me to sharpen myself, and I’ve done very well in the pre-season so far. Just focusing on continuing that.”
But now, according to Manchester Evening News, he’s ‘resigned to being forced out by Manchester United if Benjamin Sesko completes a move to Old Trafford’.
The report adds:
‘Sources close to the Denmark international concede that if Hojlund is unwanted it could lift his game but, ultimately, he will have to seek a move before the transfer deadline on September 1.’
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Ex-Red Devils assistant Rene Meulensteen believes his former side should have instead pushed to sign Ollie Watkins.
Meulensteen said: “Manchester United’s bid for Benjamin Sesko is basically exactly what they did with Rasmus Hojlund. If he scores in the first three or four games and hits the ground running then he could be the answer for the club, but there’s a chance that won’t happen.
“If you look at Hojlund, he joined Atalanta and performed well alongside the rest of the team and then joined United. The same can be said for Sesko – the Bundesliga is a very different league to the Premier League, so he’ll need to adapt. Has Sesko got potential? 100%, but he’s still young and developing and he isn’t the finished article.”
Meulensteen added: “I look at someone like Ollie Watkins who may be available. He’s a hard-working player with similar features to Sesko, except that he already has Premier League experience which is priceless. I think Sesko would probably cost more than Watkins too.
“Why doesn’t the club bring in Watkins and allow the coaches to work closely with Hojlund to allow him to develop? It’s a waste of an investment otherwise – they paid close to £80m for him and they’re in danger of selling him for less than half of that unless he develops.”
