Saha demands 30 goals from Sesko in his first full Manchester United season

Louis Saha has challenged Benjamin Sesko to score 30 goals in his first full season as a Manchester United player — a target that would comfortably surpass the 21 the Slovenian managed in his best campaign at RB Leipzig.

Sesko, 23, arrived at Old Trafford in a deal worth £66.4 million plus add-ons but was eased into life under Ruben Amorim. He found his stride after Amorim’s departure, finishing the 2024/25 season with 11 Premier League goals and 12 in all competitions — nine of those coming after Christmas.

Saha believes the infrastructure around Sesko will be decisive in whether he can reach the next level. “His team-mates need to understand the types of passes that he likes and this is the type of movement that he does,” the former France international said. “It’s important to create those links with the likes of [Bryan] Mbeumo, with the likes of Amad and [Matheus] Cunha and Bruno Fernandes.”

“United need the communication to be spot on because he needs to score 30 goals. But he also needs to play. He needs to show that he’s technical enough to score his own goals as well.”

Saha was careful to temper expectations around Sesko’s individual brilliance, drawing a contrast with the players he lined up alongside during his own time at the club. “When I played we had a player like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo who can do their own magic and they will be fine. He is not the same, so he needs a bit of support from his team-mates.”

The 30-goal target looks ambitious given Sesko’s current fitness situation. The striker picked up an injury at the end of last season and has not featured in any of United’s pre-season friendlies, though he could return to action before the end of August.

United closed out their pre-season schedule with a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan in Wroclaw, a result that underlined the work still ahead for the squad. Marcus Rashford made his first appearance since returning from World Cup duty in that game, with the England forward potentially set to play a role at Old Trafford this season after spending 2024/25 on loan at Barcelona.