Owen claims £74m signing is ‘not the answer’ for Man Utd; left ‘astounded’ by Carrick news | OneFootball

Former Man Utd striker Michael Owen is sure that Benjamin Sesko is “not the answer” and will not be the Red Devils striker “forever and ever”.

Man Utd spent around £200m on improving their attack in the summer with Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo arriving at Old Trafford.

Only four Premier League clubs scored fewer goals than Man Utd last season but they have scored the third most behind Arsenal and Man City this term.

Sesko, who signed for £74m from RB Leipzig, had a poor start to his career at Old Trafford with two goals in his first 14 matches in all competitions – but he now has eight goals in 11 matches since the departure of Ruben Amorim.

Despite Sesko only being 22, and his brilliant recent goalscoring form, Owen has ruled him out as a Man Utd player in the long term.

Owen told casino.org: “To me, he’s not the answer long-term. He’s not the Manchester United centre-forward forever and ever.

“He’s an expensive player who can get better and be a nice part of their squad, but equally, if United are playing in their biggest game of the season tomorrow, I don’t think he starts.

“If Manchester United are wanting to get back to where they feel they belong and challenge for the title, I don’t think he’s the centre-forward that you go into the season with all your hopes pinned on.

“Yes, he’s doing better. It’s great to see because it’s not nice to see anybody struggling. That being said, I think there’s an upgrade in there somewhere along the line in the next year or two or whenever somebody comes available.

“It’s great now that he can be an influence on the team and the squad and score important goals. But I’m not saying, ‘oh yeah, everything’s great now and he’s now going to shoot them to the league title’.

“He’s improved them, he’s confident again and he’s an asset to the team all of a sudden, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Interim boss Michael Carrick has been brilliant since coming in with the former Man Utd midfielder winning seven, drawing two and losing one of his matches in charge.

And Owen is “astounded” that there is even talk that Man Utd may go for another manager as their permanent boss in the summer.

Owen added: “Imagine if you got rid of Michael Carrick, just imagine it, and you brought in whoever – I don’t care who it is, even a born winner, somebody they’ve already had, that type of manager.

“Imagine if things started spiralling, started going poorly again; the ownership would get absolutely lynched.

“I’m astounded by certain people saying no, they shouldn’t appoint him. Astounded. Why on earth is this even a question? I don’t get it.

“I’m not saying, ‘go and give him a 10-year contract, everything’s perfect’. But bloody hell, what more can he do? You’ve just got to let this roll.

“This Manchester United team look like they’re on the way back at this stage. Why would you interfere with anything?

“I’d be firmly in the camp of him keeping the job. How long is it since Sir Alex left? About a dozen years now. They’ve tried everything: proven managers, the Van Gaals, you’ve had the Mourinhos, David Moyes, then they’ve gone for ex-players and given the likes of Solskjaer a go.

“Then they’ve gone a little bit left field and appointed one or two others. The new up-and-coming Portuguese superstar in Amorim, or Ralf Rangnick.

“They have tried virtually everything, and after a dozen years of trying and failing, you land on somebody that’s getting a tune out of the players.

“They’re winning games, they’re looking progressive, some of the players are playing the best football they’ve played in years.

“How on earth can anybody say that he shouldn’t continue? What’s the worst that can happen? You give him a two-year contract.

“He starts the next season, for the first three or four months he loses every game and he’s useless. He can part company with the club.

“It’s not like you’ve got to stick with someone for 10 years. It’s not like this is the biggest decision ever. He’s doing well, why not just let it continue? This is absolutely unbelievable what we’re seeing from Manchester United.

“If the league started when Carrick took over, Manchester United would be top of the league.

“We’re talking at this stage now, we’d be a third of the way through the season and Man United at the top of the league. You’d be thinking, well, can they win the league?”