Michael Carrick call on £74m Man Utd star leaves Paul Scholes mystified – ‘An issue’

Paul Scholes wants Manchester United manager Michael Carrick to include Benjamin Sesko in the starting line-up against Manchester City, as fellow pundit Tim Sherwood makes a damning analysis of the striker.

Sesko is fully fit and available now, but the Slovenia international striker did not start for Man Utd against Everton at the weekend.

Man Utd manager Carrick decided to deploy Matheus Cunha as his number nine at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Sesko eventually came on for Cunha in the 70th minute, as the Premier League game between Everton and Man Utd ended in a 2-2 draw.

Man Utd will next face Sabah at Old Trafford in the Champions League on Thursday evening before taking on Manchester City at home in the Premier League next Sunday.

Former Man Utd midfielder Scholes has urged Carrick to Sesko – who cost the Red Devils £73.7million in transfer fees when they signed him from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2025 – in his starting line-up as a number nine.

Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast: “I felt it was really timid against Everton.

“There was no aggression, and Everton were there for the taking.

“There was so much space, and they never went for the throat.

“The centre-forward position is a bit of an issue because he is not playing Sesko.

“He is a focal point.

“It is very difficult to watch a Manchester United team without a centre forward.

“With Cunha, we don’t really know what he is, a no10 or a wide player but he’s definitely not a no9 and watching United without a no9 is a struggle.”

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Michael Carrick doesn’t trust Benjamin Sesko – pundit

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood has a theory why Carrick did not play Sesko as the number nine against Everton.

The pundit believes that Carrick does not trust the 23-year-old striker.

Sherwood said: “Where do you find that striker?

“Everyone is looking for it; Arsenal are looking for it.

“Sesko isn’t the answer because no one wants to play him.

“He comes on, he’s done alright, he’s come on and scored a few goals off the bench.

“But if he was top drawer, do you think Michael Carrick would be playing him?

“Of course he would.

“He wouldn’t be wanting to play someone else [Mateus Cunha] out of position.”

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