Manchester United secured their fourth Premier League victory in succession following yesterday’s 3-1 win against Arsenal, and it marks a remarkable turnaround compared to their opening two fixtures.
Erik ten Hag’s reign at Old Trafford could not have gotten off to a poorer start, losing 2-1 to Brighton and Hove Albion in his first competitive match in charge, which was swiftly followed by a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Brentford.
It was arguably the lowest ebb in the post-Fergie period, especially when you consider the fanfare around the appointment of the former Ajax manager.
Six new arrivals have joined the club during the summer, with deadline day purchase Antony stealing the show against Arsenal with his goal and he could well be the catalyst United need to continue their excellent run of form.
The Old Trafford side were also linked with plenty of other attacking options, Napoli’s Victor Osmihen among them, but it was missing out on Red Bull Salzburg striker Benjamin Sesko that could be the hardest to take, especially if he realises his enormous potential.
Future regret for Ten Hag?
RB Leipzig announced they had signed Sesko from Salzburg in a £55m deal last month and he will stay on loan at the Austria club until 2023, before making the move to Germany.
It looks like he is following in the footsteps of Erling Haaland, who moved from Salzburg to Germany and Borussia Dortmund himself and is now arguably the finest striker in the world right now, notably scoring a staggering ten goals in his opening six Premier League outings.
The similarities don’t stop there, with journalist Tom Maston even going as far as to call Sesko a “mini-Haaland” following the youngster scoring his first ever league goal in 2021.
He followed that up saying: "There’s a reason so many are so excited about Sesko’s potential."
He has gone from strength to strength since, netting 14 goals and registering ten assists in just 47 matches for Salzburg and the 19-year-old has even scored twice for Slovenia in 13 appearances.
It’s evident that Sesko is going places and with Ten Hag looking to build a side that will not only aim to succeed in the present but one that can challenge for honours over the next few years, it was perhaps a surprise they didn’t follow through with a move.
After all, this is still a squad lacking firepower in central areas with Cristiano Ronaldo the only man to score more than ten times throughout 2021/22. With the club's famous number 7 now aged 37, they could well have signed their heir apparent this summer.
It looks like it's Leipzig’s gain and United’s loss, let's just hope this move won't come back to haunt them in the future.