Sesko vows to be United's main striker after overcoming injury that blighted debut season

Benjamin Sesko has promised to deliver more for Manchester United after revealing a persistent injury hampered his entire debut campaign at Old Trafford, with the Slovenian striker now targeting a starring role beginning with Sunday’s Manchester derby against City.

Sesko joined United from RB Leipzig in a £66m deal last summer and scored 12 goals in all competitions, but was limited to just 19 starts as a recurring physical problem drained his form and availability throughout the season.

Speaking to The Athletic, the 23-year-old explained the issue in detail. “Basically I got a kick last season, but it was also a little bit overload for myself,” he said. “It just needed a little bit longer than usual, because if you start too early it might appear again. I think it was a great decision to wait a little longer and now it’s healed, so it’s perfect. It was just to make sure that it doesn’t get worse.”

Sesko added that the enforced rest at least allowed him to rebuild his physical condition. “I had quite some time from the injury that I could gain some muscle. I lost already so much because I was overweight with muscles and I couldn’t really move so much. But now I feel very good and I think I’m in the right place at the moment.”

He has made an encouraging start to the new campaign, scoring twice despite having started only once under manager Michael Carrick. Sesko believes more minutes will unlock his best football. “The more games I’m getting, the more comfortable I feel, the more free I feel in the game,” he said. “For me the focus is all scoring goals, to provide everything for this club — but then also certain things, whether that’s link-up play or being all-around, I think that would just come in time.”

Carrick confirmed Sesko is competing for the starting berth against City with fellow forward Matheus Cunha, and suggested the choice will depend on the specific demands of the opposition. “It’s obvious they have different strengths,” the United boss said. “There’s a different threat to Ben, Matheus, Bryan [Mbeumo], Marcus [Rashford] or whoever is up there. So it depends a little bit on the opposition, a little bit on the balance of our team and certain things we want to attack.”

The Manchester derby at Old Trafford will give Sesko his most high-profile opportunity yet to stake a claim as United’s first-choice striker.