Man Utd slammed for NOT signing Liverpool striker as Benjamin Sesko blunder mooted

Teddy Sheringham has criticised Manchester United for not signing Alexander Isak before he joined Liverpool from Newcastle United on the final day of the summer transfer window, while the former Red Devils striker has noted why Bruno Fernandes is not the leader that Ruben Amorim’s side need.

Man Utd signed Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window, with Amorim now banking on the 22-year-old Slovenia international striker to score the goals to lead the Red Devils to a top-four finish in the Premier League table this season.

While Sesko arrived at Man Utd with a strong reputation, the youngster’s start to his career at Old Trafford has been less than impressive.

Sesko has not scored a goal or given an assist in six matches in all competitions so far this season.

Former Man Utd striker Sheringham believes that instead of signing Sesko, Man Utd should have signed Isak instead.

Isak joined Liverpool from Newcastle on transfer deadline day for £125million (€143.3m, $169m).

The Sweden international is widely considered to be one of the best strikers in the world, having scored 62 goals and given 11 assists in 109 appearances for Newcastle before his switch to Liverpool.

Sheringham has also identified the two players Man Utd should have signed in recent years, as he believes that England internationals Declan Rice and Harry Kane would have given them a very different look under Erik ten Hag and his successor Amorim.

Midfielder Rice ended up at Arsenal in a deal worth over £100m (€114.6m, $135.2m), and striker Kane is lighting up the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, with Sheringham convinced they could have made a difference at United.

Sheringham, who scored the equalising goal in the 1999 Champions League final that paved the way for Man Utd’s treble-winning success, told TEAMtalk, with Coin Poker: “I go back again to when Harry Kane and Declan Rice were both available and Manchester United were nowhere near either of them.

“Instead, United have put their money in players who are not used to English football. They have spent a lot of money, but they’ve not got the right players in.

“They could have had Kane for £100 million and they ended up buying Rasmus Hojlund for £70m.

“They could have got Alexander Isak this summer for £120m and they got Benjamin Sesko instead.

“Sir Alex Ferguson would have always gone out and broken the bank to get that leader, to get that top player, so that everybody looks at him as soon as he pulls that shirt on and goes, wow, what a player. I want to play like him. I want to be like him.

“When you get players that are not quite sure about their own ability or coming into the Premier League for the first time, they are looking around for a bit of help, but it doesn’t work like that. When you’re a £70m player, you should be showing us the way.

“So it’s not rocket science for me. The reason why Manchester United are where they are now is because of the stature of the players they have been buying are not good enough.”

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Bruno Fernandes ‘not really a leader’ for Man Utd

Sheringham has further said that he believes that Man Utd have contributed to their own demise by failing to sign true leaders.

Man Utd have been among the biggest spenders in English football since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as the club’s manager in the summer of 2013, but the years since his exit have failed to revive their glory days.

Now, Sheringham has pointed an accusing finger at the club’s transfer policy, as he suggested the lack of leadership on and off the pitch has been a major contributory factor behind Man Utd’s decline.

Sheringham walked into a Man United dressing room packed with big personalities like Peter Schmeichel, Gary Pallister and Roy Keane when he arrived at the club in 1997, but he has told TEAMtalk that the current captain, Bruno Fernandes, and the squad working under manager Amorim lack the talismanic characters required to succeed at the highest level.

Sheringham said: “I’ve been saying it for a few years now, there are no leaders at the football club anymore.

“Not anybody that you say, he is ever-present for Manchester United, he’s their main man. Apart from Fernandes, I suppose, who is not really a leader.

“He’s the one that is first on your team sheets as captain, but he’s not your he’s not your John Terry, Tony Adams, Roy Keane leadership figure. He’s a flair player.

“When I went to Manchester United, you had so many leaders. There were leaders there before that showed you the way.

“The likes Gary Pallister, Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand. They were the type of players that Sir Alex Ferguson bought over the years, and just kept the machine rolling. They came in and led by example and showed other people how to play and other players followed them.

“They were the top players at the time, the top England players, and they knew and understood how to play the game, how to conduct themselves and how to lead by example at a big club in England. For me, United have not signed those types of players in recent years and that’s a problem.”

Latest Man Utd news: Bid for Crystal Palace star, PSG eye Rashford

In other news, TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, has reported that Manchester United are set to make a bid for a Crystal Palace star, as Amorim aims to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window.

Man Utd have been made aware that Paris Saint-Germain are now showing interest in Marcus Rashford, with the defending French and European champions ready to pay more than Barcelona for the England international forward.

Meanwhile, the Italian media has named the midfielder that Man Utd are showing a keen interest in.

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