Benjamin Šeško is United’s best striker in years

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In their desperate attempts to repair the squad over the past decade, United have been crying out for a striker who can score goals.

That problem has been particularly exacerbated in the past couple of years, when Rasmus Højlund became their solution up front, and Marcus Rashford slowly faded out of the frame.

Rashford is the last United player to hit more than 10 goals in the Premier League, after he notched 17 in 2022-23. Bruno and Hojlund tied for 10 the next season, followed by a measly 8 goal tie between Bruno and Amad last time out. Šeško’s already matched that in 2025-26, alongside another new signing in Bryan Mbeumo.

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But it’s only recently that Šeško’s found form.

Checking notes here. It’s also only recently that the whole red of Manchester found form.

The common denominator? Michael Carrick.

Particularly – how Michael Carrick has utilized Šeško as a pure ‘number 9’ and worked to emphasize his best characteristics.

Benjamin Šeško is the quintessential image of a ‘9’. He’s tall, aggressive, capable in the air, and comes alive in the eighteen yard box. He’s imposing, physical, and, on his day, unstoppable in front of goal.

He’s also excellent with his back to goal, a capable link player, and excellent at nodding the ball onto others.

This is what Ruben Amorim emphasized when employing Šeško up front.

The Slovenian was meant to receive forward passes, bounce it to his attacking midfielders, and offer that linkage between facilitating attacks with his back to goal, and nodding long passes on for the pace of Bryan Mbeumo.

Amorim often had his number 9 picking up the ball in these kinds of areas, surrounded by defenders.

Notice how as he’s dropped to pick up the ball deeper on the field, four of his teammates are now ahead of him.

This approach can work great for many strikers. Harry Kane is one of the best illustrations of it.

Here’s an example where Kane drops all the way to the position of a centre-back(!) to pick up possession and build those beginning blocks for Bayern.

But this isn’t the approach that every striker should take.

In fact, doing this would limit the Slovenian’s best qualities. And that’s exactly what we saw under Amorim.

The former Leipzig man is a penalty box poacher. He needs service. He needs to be the one finishing moves. Not helping facilitate them.

While it’s something that he’s capable of doing, it then means that he’s not the one ready to finish the move. And that is where Šeško shines: Inside the six-yard box.

This is what Carrick has done brilliantly since entering the fold. We saw the beginning of this against Burnley under Darren Fletcher, where he netted his first two goals since the start of the campaign.

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From then on, Šeško has looked likely to score every single match, whether he’s starting or not.

A lot of that comes from instinct and intelligence. He’s adept at placing himself in between defenders, looking for those gaps to sprint into the penalty area and get on the end of a cross.

He has a wonderful understanding with Bruno Fernandes, and knows that if he can just give himself a bit of space to work with, he can then give himself room to attack a cross or a through ball and hammer it home.

That’s exactly what we saw with his winner against Crystal Palace, where giving himself just a few yards away from the defense allowed him to powerfully attack the ball ahead of Palace’s centre-backs.

Power is often a word used to describe Šeško’s shooting.

New goalkeeper Senne Lammens said himself that Šeško shoots harder than anyone else in training, and with strikes like the one he put together against Fulham, it’s easy to see why.

But the real power of Šeško is how well he commands situations in the air. He rises early and high to attack crosses head on, and is excellent at redirecting the ball into the corners.

Sometimes it’s been about placing the ball almost too well and striking the woodwork. Other times, he’s thundered the ball into the corner, giving the keeper no chance.

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The other incredible asset to the 22-year-old’s game is his undeniable pace in behind.

As we all found out this past week when he ran the length of the field to finish coolly into the corner against Everton, Šeško is surprisingly speedy.

This was the Slovenian at the start of the move when the ball crossed halfway.

This is him four seconds later, right before scoring the go-ahead-goal.

But when you look back at his goals, this shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. It’s been a theme with the Slovenian’s goals all season.

Šeško is often able to create chances for himself through his powerful running and acceleration into the penalty area.

While the Everton goal will live long in the memories of United fans, it isn’t the first time Šeško’s acceleration has earned himself a goal.

Both of the goals in his brace against Burnley came through his dynamic movement and powerful sprinting in behind. The first came through that telepathic understanding with Bruno Fernandes, where he saw a pocket of space, sprinted into it, received, and slotted it home.

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The second came from a classic shift right then shift left maneuver where he lost the nearest Burnley defender and then coolly volleyed the ball into the back of the net.

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With four goals in his last five matches, Šeško earned himself the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for February. This, in just 85 minutes of making an impact off the bench.

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With seven goals in his last eight, Šeško is currently on track to end the season as United’s top scorer, despite having significantly fewer minutes than others. If he can continue to grow from here, the 22-year-old will stake his claim as United’s best striker in years.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!