'He's not relaxed' - Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim urges struggling Benjamin Sesko to 'embrace' challenge of proving doubters wrong following slow start to season

Excitement was sky high over the summer as United invested over £200m on a new forward line consisting of Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. However, while Mbeumo and Cunha have hit the ground running for the Red Devils, it has been a different story for Sesko, who has scored just two goals in 11 appearances in all competitions.

Such has been Sesko’s difficulties adapting to English football that United legend Gary Neville has questioned whether the forward represents a good investment by the 20-time champions.

Speaking to NBC Sports on the back of United’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last Saturday, Neville said: "I’m no further forward with him, the jury’s still out. He’s miles off it compared to the other forwards United brought in, like Cunha and Mbeumo. He looks awkward, his touch was off a few times when balls went over the top. For £80m [sic], yes he’s young and still settling but you want to see something more.”

However, while United head coach Amorim accepts Sesko has struggled upon his arrival from German football, the Portuguese has advised his charge not to take criticism from club legends too personally.

Offering an insight into how hard Sesko is working behind the scenes in order to change the narrative surrounding his big-money move, Amorim said: "I'm relaxed, [but] he's not relaxed. I understand how things are in football and he's going to struggle. That is normal. He has no experience here.

"The first impact [is] when everyone says that you are so good, you are the next big thing and you hear that about Sesko. Then you come to one club that is the hardest club. If you don't perform every week, you are going to hear a lot of things from club legends, from pundits, from the media - and sometimes they are right.

"Of course, nobody likes to hear but he struggled a little bit, and that is a fact. So, let's embrace that. It is hard to hear but it's not personal. It's an opinion that is going to change in three weeks. Everything that is true today, in three weeks, could be a lie.

"Ben is a young kid, a control freak. He wants to control everything - and he's not going to control everything.

"He has more potential than I was thinking [but] we need to understand how he likes to play and also to put in our ideas. I'm quite relaxed with that. He is going to be our striker for the long term but he's going to have these struggles and these bumps during the ride. That is a normal thing in football."

Sesko will be hoping to ease the pressure on his shoulders when United travel to Tottenham in the league on Saturday. It is the first meeting between the two sides since the Europa League final in May, when Spurs ended their 17-year trophy drought with a 1-0 victory over Amorim’s men.

United, however, head to north London in great spirits following a four-game unbeaten run in the league. The Old Trafford club - who are currently eighth in the league and just a point behind sixth-placed Tottenham - secured three consecutive victories over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton before last weekend’s draw with Forest.

Previewing his side’s trip to Spurs, Amorim said: "I think we are improving as a squad. We are winning games because we train better, we understand better the game. We have more options. So it's more, the consistency from the results is more a squad thing than a starting XI."

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