Garry Neville sounds alarm over Manchester United’s ‘awkward’ £74m investment

What’s the verdict?

Gary Neville says the jury is still out on Manchester United’s summer signing Benjamin Sesko.

Speaking on NBC Sport via Youtube, Gary Neville warned that Sesko’s adaptation to English football may not be as seamless as fans hope. While acknowledging the youngster’s potential, Neville questioned whether Manchester United’s current setup can support his development.

‘He’s well off it compared to the other summer signings that Man United made up front in Cunha and Mbeumo.

‘He looks awkward, he had a couple of really good opportunities in the first half when balls got played over the top and his touch wasn’t quite right.

‘For 80 million pounds, you can say he’s young, has a lot of potential and is only just settling in, but you still want to see a bit more.’

Sesko’s Journey: From Leipzig’s Rising Star to United’s Hope

In 2023, Sesko moved to RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and over two seasons he scored a record 39 goals in 87 appearances for Leipzig in all competitions. This was enough to make big clubs heads turn towards him, Manchester United were one of them.

Although Leipzig extended his contract until 2029 Manchester United threw in big money, reportedly £74m, in August 2025.

At United, however, the challenge is different, his competitive debut came on 17th August 2025 in the opening weekend defeat to Arsenal, before being given 37 minutes in a 1-1 draw away at Fulham.

As things stand, he has scored two goals and made one assist across nine league matches in the 2025-26 season so far. Inconsistencies in the midfield proved fatal for the team, but now as the Reds finally gain momentum, Sesko would want to be on his feet.

What Sesko Brings to United’s System

What the 22-year-old has is potential and requires time on the pitch, earlier on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show, the English icon praised Sesko’s strength and movement after his performance against Sunderland saying, “he’s a handful” and uses his body well in duels that benefit dellow summer signings, Mbeumo and Cunha. He also added that improving his goal tally will help gain momentum.

The key will be patience, which Amorim seems to have with young talents. Speaking after the stalemate at Nottingham Forest, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim admitted his side briefly lost their grip on the match, saying: “For about five minutes, we lost control and allowed the game to slip away from us.” he also praised the team for fighting for a point acknowledging the fact that they would have struggled in the past to recover from a 2-1 down situation. If we are to keep up with the good run of results, our star striker will need to step up.