Benjamin Sesko's Golden Boot Challenge at Manchester United
Vladimir Smicer has thrown down a challenge to both Manchester United and Benjamin Sesko – start him, trust him, and he can fire his way to the Golden Boot.
The former Liverpool midfielder believes United are sitting on a goalscoring weapon they are barely using. Sesko, a £73.7 million signing from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2025, is the only recognised senior No.9 in Michael Carrick’s squad, yet he has not started a single Premier League game this season.
Carrick has preferred Matheus Cunha through the middle, with Joshua Zirkzee also an option in the role. Both can operate as a centre-forward. Neither is a natural penalty-box striker in the way Sesko is.
And that, in Smicer’s eyes, is the problem.
“He can win the Golden Boot”
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Smicer was emphatic about Sesko’s ceiling at Old Trafford if Carrick reshapes his attack around the 23-year-old Slovenia international.
“Benjamin Sesko can win the Golden Boot at Manchester United if they trust him to start games because of his size and he’s also very fast,” Smicer said, pointing to the headed goal the striker scored against Everton after coming off the bench. That moment underlined the threat he brings. It did not, however, win him a starting spot in the Manchester derby, where he again watched the opening whistle from the bench.
Sesko’s numbers this season hint at potential rather than dominance: two goals in six appearances in all competitions, with his starts coming in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup rather than the league. For a marquee centre-forward, that is a supporting role, not a starring one.
Smicer insists the responsibility is shared. The manager must show faith, but Sesko must force the issue.
“He can’t give his manager a choice”
“He has to be patient again after last season and wait for his chance, because he will get that chance, and when he does he needs to show that he deserves to keep his place,” Smicer said.
The message is blunt. Hunger, not just finishing, will decide whether Sesko becomes United’s undisputed spearhead.
“He needs to be more hungry for that opportunity, not just the goals, I think,” Smicer added. “When he’s on the pitch, when he gets his chance from Michael Carrick, he must show him that from now on it’s only me who starts up front for the goals, for the pressing, for everything.”
That line cuts to the heart of United’s striking dilemma. With no other natural No.9 in the squad, Sesko has a clear path to ownership of the role. He just hasn’t grabbed it yet.
“I probably haven’t seen that from him yet but he needs to play,” Smicer admitted. “He can’t give his manager a choice. Sesko needs to be the player whose performances tell Carrick you do not put on the bench again. I’m here. I need to play every game.”
United’s season, and Sesko’s status, now hinge on the same question: does Carrick double down on his flexible forwards, or finally build his attack around the one out-and-out striker he has?
