Alan Shearer claims Man Utd ‘paid too much’ for summer signing as he doesn’t ‘expect huge things’

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has explained why he thinks Manchester United “paid too much” for Benjamin Sesko in the summer transfer window.

Sesko joined Man Utd for around £74m from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig in the summer after missing out on Liam Delap and Viktor Gyokeres.

The 22-year-old joined the Red Devils after scoring 22 goals in all competitions for Leipzig last season. He favoured a move to Old Trafford over Newcastle United, who were keen for him to replace Alexander Isak.

The striker was Man Utd’s most expensive summer signing, but they also invested to land Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Senne Lammens ahead of this season.

Mbeumo, Cunha and Lammens have made a great impact for Man Utd in recent weeks, helping Ruben Amorim’s side hit form in recent weeks. They are currently on a five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

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Sesko has not received as much praise and he has been heavily criticised by the club legend Gary Neville, who has argued that the forward has looked way off it this season.

It is still arguably too soon to judge Sesko as he is still settling in at Man Utd and certainly has the necessary physical attributes to become a great striker in the coming years.

Despite this, Shearer has explained why he is not sold on Sesko.

“One player that must do better for United is Benjamin Sesko,” Shearer told Betfair.

“They paid 70 odd million for him. That was a lot of money, I know it’s the market but it was too much. He’s had a tough start and I don’t expect huge things from him to be honest.

“I think he’s a good player but I’m not sure he’s any more than that. He should have scored a couple more goals than he has so far.

“It’s been a tough start for him, especially considering the money United paid.”

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Man Utd will look to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League when they face Everton next Monday to boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League, but Shearer thinks they are “far from the finished article”.

“They’re far from the finished article,” Shearer added.

“I still think there’s a lot of work to be done, and I don’t expect them to finish in the top six. Just outside that would still be an improvement given last season.

“They were miles off it last season, they were terrible, so for them to finish there would be an improvement. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.”