Man Utd pursuing £50m “menace” for Amorim

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Manchester United’s season so far has been disappointing, although they have had an upturn in form since Erik ten Hag was sacked from his position.

Club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy was tasked with the role of interim manager until Ruben Amorim officially takes over on the 11th of November.

The former Red Devils striker has yet to lose in charge of the Red Devils. The Dutchman has overseen two wins and a draw so far, with one game left to play. His first game in temporary charge was a 5-2 thrashing of Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, before a 1-1 draw in the Premier League against Chelsea.

Most recently, the Red Devils beat Greek side PAOK in the Europa League, thanks to two goals from winger Amad.

Amad’s stats this season

It has been a tough season for the Ivorian winger. Despite his obvious quality, the 22-year-old has not been given much of an opportunity by either Ten Hag or Van Nistelrooy, until his start against PAOK from which he grabbed the chance with both hands.

This term, the youngster has played 15 games in all competitions, scoring three goals and registering one assist. As well as his brace against the Greek side, he also scored in the Premier League against Brighton and grabbed an assist against Southampton.

Prior to Thursday’s night win, he had been named on the bench in six successive games, despite an initially encouraging start to the campaign.

It is certainly strange that the Red Devils number 16 has only played 700 minutes of football all season, especially given the start to the season that he had.

Following his exploits against PAOK, football statistician Statman Dave explained that he has created 18 chances in all competitions, which is more than any United winger. That is even more remarkable given the minutes he has been given.

It certainly seems like Amad has done enough to earn a start in United’s next outing, and likely for the foreseeable future, too. In fact the Red Devils have been linked with a striker who could make the 22-year-old even better.

United’s striker target

The player in question here is RB Leipzig and Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko. According to a report from Christian Falk earlier this week, the Red Devils will compete with German giants Bayern Munich for his signature. He could cost upwards of £50m, a price GiveMeSport believe Arsenal were quoted by the Bundesliga side.

It has been a superb start to the season for the 21-year-old centre-forward. He has played 14 times so far this term, scoring seven goals and grabbing three assists. He has been in fine form in the Champions League in particular. Sesko has three goals in four games, scoring against Atletico Madrid and two against Juventus.

His shooting stats on FBref show just how deadly the Leipzig number 30 is in front of goal. Over the past 365 days, the 21-year-old averages 0.23 goals per shot and 1.47 shots on target each game. That ranks him in the top 8% and 15% respectively amongst strikers in Europe’s big five leagues.

Sesko shooting stats over the last 365 days
Stat (per 90)	Number	Percentile
Goals	0.65	81st
Shots on target	1.47	85th
Shots on target %	55.4%	96th
Goals per shot	0.23	92nd
Non-penalty goals – npxG	+0.19	96th
Stats from FBref

The striker, who was described as a “menace” by football scout Antonio Mango, could form a deadly partnership with Amad. Sesko’s stats prove that it does not take him much to score, with a good number of his shots finding the back of the net.

Combine that with Amad’s impressive ability to create chances, both from in and around the penalty box and from deeper crossing positions, and United could have a match made in heaven. The 6 foot 4 striker could have a field day on the end of some of Amad’s passes.

United have struggled for goals this term, and have scored nine times in the Premier League, the third worst in the competition. Unleashing the young Ivorian would certainly help this, but getting a marksman as deadly as Sesko into the side could elevate this even more.

Should United get the deal over the line, a £50m investment could be a bargain if the Slovenian attacker can develop a frightening partnership with United’s talented winger, and help Amorim’s new side climb the Premier League table quickly.