Michael Owen Backs Michael Carrick’s Benjamin Sesko Call — But Manchester United Striker Has One Big Step To Take

Michael Owen has backed Michael Carrick’s decision to leave Benjamin Sesko on the bench for Manchester United’s Manchester derby defeat — but believes the striker still has plenty to prove before he can be considered the “real deal”.

Sesko has yet to start a Premier League game for United this season, despite scoring 11 league goals in 30 appearances since his £74million move to Old Trafford last summer.

The Slovenia international was again introduced from the bench during Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, eventually coming on in the 67th minute.

Gary Neville felt United had a case for bringing Sesko on at half-time after City were reduced to 10 men when Phil Foden was sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes midway through the first half.

Carrick, however, waited until the second half to turn to his £74million striker — and Owen believes the United boss got the call right.

“I think Sesko still needs to develop more as a player to be the real deal,” Owen told The Metro.

‘How Do You Get Him There?’

Owen argued that United ultimately need an elite centre-forward if they are to challenge for the Premier League again, while acknowledging that Sesko could potentially develop into that player.

“Is Sesko one of the ten best centre-forwards in the world? No, I don’t think he is,” Owen said.

“How do you get him there? Well, maybe you play him a bit more and give him more experience. Maybe that is the way forward.”

For now, though, Owen would have made exactly the same decision as Carrick when selecting his starting XI for the derby.

“But as things stand now, if I was picking the team yesterday, I would have done exactly the same as Michael Carrick. I don’t think he’ll be having sleepless nights.”

Sesko’s Role Under Carrick

Owen also believes Sesko has already shown his value as an impact option, rather than suggesting his lack of starts should immediately become a major concern.

“I think Sesko is a great impact player,” he said. “I’ve got no problems if one of them got injured and he started. He’s scored goals from starting and from coming off the bench.”

The former England striker also pointed to United’s recent attacking form as a reason not to overreact to one goalless performance.

“He’s a good player to have in your squad, but I don’t think there should be a massive clamour all of a sudden just because they didn’t score a goal in the game,” Owen added.

“They scored five goals against Ipswich not so long ago.”

For Sesko, the message is therefore fairly straightforward: Owen sees the potential, but believes regular opportunities and experience may ultimately determine whether the £74million signing develops into the elite striker United hope they bought.