Benjamin Sesko was one of the standout performers for RB Salzburg as they beat Liverpool in a pre-season friendly in Austria on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old capped off his fine display by scoring the only goal of the game just after the half-hour mark. Sesko is the latest exciting product of the RB talent factory and looks set to follow the likes of Erling Haaland and Karim Adeyemi onto bigger and better things.
He’s reportedly caught the attention of Manchester United plus a host of other Premier League sides, and it’s easy to see why. As is often the case for prospects coming through at the club, the forward spent the 2020/21 season with Salzburg’s feeder club Leifering in the Austrian second division and impressed en route to scoring 20 goals.
His performances there saw him return to Salzburg and be promoted to the first team ahead of last season. However, playing second fiddle behind the likes of Adeyemi - who joined Borussia Dortmund this summer - meant Sesko managed to accumulate just 1714 minutes of competitive action.
Despite that, he was still able to register 14 goal contributions (11 goals, three assists) across the course of the campaign. That goal return actually broke down to an impressive average of 0.58 goals per 90.
Sesko’s good penalty box movement combined with Salzburg’s dominance in the Austrian Bundesliga means he is usually bestowed a good amount of chances when he does play - he averaged 6.77 touches in the box and 3.28 shots per 90 across all competitions last season.
It’s not unimaginable that those sorts of numbers could be replicated at Old Trafford, Ronaldo for example averaged 3.65 shots and 5.12 touches in the penalty box last season. That could improve even further under Ten Hag next season.
Sesko has very much continued in the same vein over pre-season and looks on track for a scintillating season in front of goal - his strike against Liverpool was his sixth goal in his seventh friendly appearance of the summer so far.
Beyond his impressive numbers though, the 19-year-old has standout physical traits that could be key to his success should he come to England. He’s fast, strong and noticeably tall at 6ft4in.
As it stands, United haven’t solidified their interest with an offer, yet that could change. The Reds are in the market for a new forward after Edinson Cavani left in the summer and with Ronaldo’s future still in doubt.
Sesko’s age and lack of experience in one of Europe’s top five leagues would make him a gamble, especially if he was being lined up to be the long-term successor for Ronaldo. However, Ten Hag will no doubt want to move away from United’s recent short-term thinking in terms of their recruitment at the top end of the pitch and singing Sesko could prove to be a step in the right direction.
