Benjamin Sesko: Manchester United's Next Golden Boot Winner

Vladimir Smicer has thrown down a challenge to both Michael Carrick and Benjamin Sesko – trust the striker, and let him prove he can be Manchester United’s Golden Boot winner.

United head into the heart of the season with just one recognised senior No.9. Sesko is it. Matheus Cunha and Joshua Zirkzee can operate through the middle, but neither is a natural penalty-box striker. Carrick, though, has persisted with Cunha as his central option in the Premier League, leaving Sesko watching from the bench.

So far, that patience has come at a cost for the Slovenian.

Sesko stuck on the sidelines

Sesko, 23, arrived at Old Trafford from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2025 for a hefty £73.7 million fee, billed as the long-term solution at centre-forward. Yet he has not started a single Premier League game this season.

His minutes have come in other arenas. Carrick has turned to him in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, and Sesko has responded with two goals in six appearances across all competitions. Flashes, not a full run.

One of those flashes came at Goodison Park, where he rose to power in a superb header against Everton after coming off the bench. A classic striker’s goal: movement, timing, conviction. Then came the Manchester derby – and another place among the substitutes.

For Smicer, that pattern needs to change.

“He can win the Golden Boot”

Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, the former Liverpool midfielder backed Sesko to explode if Carrick makes him the focal point.

“Benjamin Sesko can win the Golden Boot at Manchester United if they trust him to start games because of his size and he’s also very fast, and he scored a nice goal with that header against Everton after coming on as a sub but he was on the bench again the Manchester derby,” Smicer said.

The message was not just for Carrick. It was for Sesko too.

“He has to be patient again after last season and wait for his chance, because he will get that chance, and when he does he needs to show that he deserves to keep his place.

“He needs to be more hungry for that opportunity, not just the goals, I think.

“When he’s on the pitch, when he gets his chance from Michael Carrick, he must show him that from now on it’s only me who starts up front for the goals, for the pressing, for everything.”

Smicer did not spare the forward from criticism.

“I probably haven’t seen that from him yet but he needs to play.

“He can’t give his manager a choice.

“Sesko needs to be the player whose performances tell Carrick you do not put on the bench again.

“I’m here.

“I need to play every game.”

That is the standard Smicer is setting: a striker so relentless that leaving him out becomes unthinkable.

Right now, United’s only out-and-out No.9 is waiting for that moment. The question is whether Carrick hands him the starting shirt – and whether Sesko is ready to make it his for good.