It was a slow start to Benjamin Sesco’s life at Manchester United. The Slovenians joined the Red Devils in the summer, costing the club £66.3 million and add-ons of £74 million. He signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford.
However, the 22-year-old has not actually run since his big money move from RB Leipzig on the Bundesliga side. The 6-foot-5 centre forward has been eased by manager Reuben Amorim and has only played 80 minutes in the Premier League. He played the full game in the defeat of the Carabao Cup to the town of Grimsby, but did not score.
Despite Sesko’s start and start, the same cannot be said about the summer buddy signing Matheus Cunha.
The beginning of life at CUNHA’s United
The football statistician statistician Dave said it best: Cunha “will light Old Trafford this season.” The Brazilians have started life for the Red Devils in a great way, despite having yet to find the backstage of the net.
This semester, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers player, who has been the starter of all four United games so far, has put a real spark on Amorim’s offense with his directness and creativity.
He has approached scoring several times, and this effort against Fulham is one of the closest.
The fundamental numbers from Cunha’s days at United up until now highlight how well he started. Brazil International has already averaged 1.3 key passes and 1.7 dribbling this season, according to its sofa score.
Unfortunately for the Red Devils, the 26-year-old was injured in a recent Premier League clash with Burnley at Old Trafford. It was serious enough for Amorim to replace Cunha after 31 minutes of the game.
At this stage it is unclear whether the Brazilian attackers will meet in time for the Manchester Derby at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Otherwise, Amorim has someone in his wings waiting to be released.
United ready-made Cunha alternative
Despite Cunha’s injuries, United lacks one choice for one of the 10 roles next to Bryan Mbeumo. Bruno Fernandez was pushed high above the pitch, allowing Amado to move from the wingback, and Cobby Mineu to score the obvious first Premier League start.
However, the ideal option for Amorim to unleash is Dutch forward Joshu Azilky. He was called the attacker “monster” by football analyst Ben Matinson, and was particularly impressed with being 10th in the second half of last season at the age of 24.
Zirkzee, who has been featured in 34 games so far under United’s Portuguese manager, has found the back of the net six times to support one goal.
One of these strikes came in a 2-2 draw to the Olympics Lyon in the Europa League.
One of Zirkzee’s greatest strengths is his silky link-up play. The attackers who can play as center forwards and the 10th attackers are excellent when it comes to falling into the pocket of space to link plays with quick give and go passes.
He also excels in one-on-one situations in tight spaces, allowing him to dance past defenders with his quick feet, often leaving them in the dust. He doesn’t have a lightning pace, but his incredible technical capabilities shine.
Certainly, last season’s Europa League statistics support the theory that those attributes are his best.
For example, he had a take-on success rate of 70% and played 3.4 progressive passes per 90 minutes. These metrics put him in the top 2% and 6% advance in competitions last season.
Zirkzee -24/25 Europa League | ||
|---|---|---|
Condition (per 90) | number | Percentile |
Expected assist | 0.2 | 86 days |
Progressive Pass | 3.4 | 94 days |
Key Pass | 1.19 | 71st |
Shot creation action | 3.23 | 79 days |
Take-on success rate | 70% | 98 days |
Statistics from fbref | ||
Zirkzee may be the perfect option for Amorim to unleash as one of the 10 seconds. He’s only played around an hour of football this season, but he’s perfectly suited to playing in the same role as Cunha.
That means something like Sesko misses the place in the starting lineup, but Jirk’s technical capabilities may be too good for Amorim to ignore.
