what £60m star would offer as transfer talk intensifies

Benjamin Sesko idolised Man United hero - what £60m star would offer as transfer talk intensifies

Man Utd transfer news with Benjamin Sesko linked with a move to Old Trafford

Benjamin Sesko has been linked with a transfer to Manchester United this summer

Too many of Manchester United's recent superstar signings have failed to live up to the mark.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in typically Zlatan Ibrahimovic style, was different. He arrived at Old Trafford in 2016, announcing his move on social media 24 hours before an official statement. He was in the twilight of his career but plundered 29 goals in 43 starts, helping United win the Europa League, albeit he missed the final through injury, and the League Cup, in which he scored twice as the Reds beat Southampton.

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Benjamin Sesko would have taken note. The Slovenia superstar is being linked with a move to United and the prospect of him following in Ibrahimovic's footsteps is one that would excite both Sesko and Reds supporters.

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The 22-year-old has forged a reputation as one of Europe's leading goalscorers in recent seasons, transferring the form he showed breaking through at Red Bull Salzburg to the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig. United were first linked with a move for Sesko two years ago and speculation he could join this summer has ramped up in recent days.

He was nothing more than a promising junior when Ibrahimovic was strutting his stuff at Old Trafford but a young Sesko, who is a keen basketball fan and was initially pressed into football as a goalkeeper by his dad, himself a former stopper, before becoming a forward, was enthralled by the Swedish superstar.

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic was my idol,” he said in an interview in 2023. “I’m not saying I play like him but he was having fun, enjoying himself on the pitch, doing what he wanted to do. It makes me really happy when I see that kind of player. Every single video I could find, I was looking at him.”

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One of those videos will likely have been the League Cup win in 2017 when Ibrahimovic netted a late winner to hand United the trophy. Sesko has spoken of an interest in playing in the Premier League: "Of course it would be nice to play there," he mused shortly after signing for Leipzig.

His stock has risen considerably since and it's easy to see why. Sesko is a towering forward with an eye for goal, aerial ability, and a thunderous strike, but he offers much more than 'the big man up top'.

He is a willing channel runner, often retreats into midfield to pick up the ball and progress play while his dribbling ability makes him a danger from deep.

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He has 27 goals in 47 league starts for Leipzig, numbers that provide a belief he could cut it in the Premier League. And at United, as a focal point of an attack and with a new-look creative force behind him, he could thrive.

If United were able to complete a deal for Sesko, it would significantly enhance a squad that has struggled for goals in the past two seasons and potentially provide a long-term solution.

In his first interview as a Red, Ibrahmiovic said: "I don't like to compare the past with the present."

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In Sesko, United would get a reminder of the past with a bright future ahead.

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