In the battle for supremacy in the striker market last summer, Manchester United acquired Benjamin Sesco from RB Leipzig.
It was a merry-go-round, with Victor Gokeres and others moving to Arsenal, and Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak moving to Liverpool.
Almost a year later, it’s safe to say the jury is still out on all those signatures. Ekitike shone in a 17-goal spurt before his season was brutally cut short by an Achilles injury.
Alexander Isak himself endured injury hell, missing much of his first season at Anfield. Gokeres is the best when it comes to goalscoring, scoring 21 goals in all competitions.
As for Sesco, he has an impressive record of 12 goals in 32 games. However, given the £74m purchase price, one would expect the deal to be much more.
Perhaps that explains the relevance of a new striker in the transfer market.
Manchester United to sign Premier League centre-forward
Before United do anything this summer, it is most important that the Red Devils sort out their manager situation. Michael Carrick will probably be given the job permanently and it would be a nice reward for the turnaround he has made in Manchester.
Since taking over, they have been the best team in the division, sitting at the top of the table with 32 points from their last 14 games. The next best team in this respect is Arsenal, who are five points behind.
They could secure Champions League football next season and give a major boost to their efforts to confirm their top targets.
Elliott Anderson remains the main target in that regard, but rivals Manchester City are widely thought to be in pole position to lure him away from Nottingham Forest. He could leave the City Ground for a whopping £100m.
Ranking: Premier League’s best midfielders (2025/26)
Is anyone approaching Bruno Fernandes now?
Anderson is not the only Premier League player the club is tracking. They are looking away from midfield to Bournemouth and Eli Junior Crupi.
This follows a report from Sportboom, which points out that United are one of a number of teams, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, to be keeping an eye on the young striker.
However, Carrick’s men appear ready to step up their interest further, with the Red Devils reportedly planning to make an offer of £43m, including bonuses, to snatch him from the Cherries.
Vitality Stadium officials are seeking a £60m package to let Crupi leave, and that bid is likely to be rejected.
Comparison of Crupi and Benjamin Sesko
Sesco’s first season in the Premier League was not an easy one. There are very few strikers who moved almost a year ago.
He has continued to improve under Carrick’s reign, scoring seven goals in his last 12 league games, but 12 goals this season is not an ideal figure for a player paid such a huge amount of money.
Of course, there is still time for the Slovenian to develop further. When he arrived from Germany last summer, there was a perception that they were signing a project striker. Well, it certainly seems that way.
In that respect, Kurupi is also made from the same fabric. He’s only 19 years old, but he’s making some big waves.
Coincidentally, the young Frenchman has the exact same batting average as Sesco this season, scoring 12 goals in 32 games. That being said, he was three years younger and could start running faster.
Simply put, this is one of the best young players not only in the Premier League but also in Europe. Daniel Sturridge hailed him as “one of the best finishers in the Premier League” and he has been hailed as “the next Kylian Mbappé” for some time, particularly by leading magazine GOAL.
“He is a phenomenon. He reminds me a bit of Kylian Mbappé in terms of the maturity of his play. He does everything very quickly. He has already achieved good results for a young man of his age.” – Tiemoue Bakayoko.
To refute Sturridge’s view, Crupi has the second-highest conversion rate in the entire Premier League this season. The irony is that only former United man Danny Welbeck has a better record in front of goal.
Highest conversion rate – 2025/26 Premier League | |
|---|---|
player | conversion rate |
1) Danny Welbeck | 24.5% |
2) i.e. junior croup | 24.4% |
3) Noah Okafor | 22.9% |
4) Victor Gokeres | 22.4% |
5) Keenan Dewsbury Hall | 22.2% |
6) João Pedro | 22.1% |
7) Thomas Soucek | 21.7% |
8) Tierno Barry | 21.6% |
What rank is Sesco? Well, he’s all the way down to 22nd with an 18% conversion rate. To put this into context, even Casemiro (18.4%) was more efficient than the Slovenian international in front of goal.
That’s not to say Sesco is a bad player. He’s been great the last few months. Still, Crupi appears to be developing into an elite talent.
His goal from the penalty spot against Crystal Palace last weekend was his 12th Premier League goal of the season, meaning no teenager has scored more goals than Crupi in his debut season in England’s top flight. He’s on par with Robbie Keane and Robbie Fowler in that respect.
Additionally, he ranks 12th on the list of all-time top teenage goalscorers in the Premier League. He is slightly behind leader Michael Owen with 40, but is already level with Ryan Giggs and ahead of Jermain Defoe (11) and Dele Alli (eight). He is currently just one place behind Marcus Rashford and two behind Raheem Sterling.
Whether United need a replacement for Sesco is debatable, but in Crupi they will be signing a great contender and a player who will be at the forefront of their attack for years to come.
New Van Persie: Man United ready to sign ‘best player in the world’
Manchester United are looking for players of greater caliber after qualifying for the Champions League.
