Ruben Amorim hailed the unrelenting work rate of Manchester United’s new signing Benjamin Šeško, although he also warned that the £74 million ($99.5 million) recruit still has plenty of room for improvement.
United had been tracking the former RB Leipzig striker earlier in the summer only for their interest to cool after doubts were reportedly raised. Aside from his steep asking price, both the Red Devils and Arsenal were thought to believe that the raw 22-year-old still needed “significant development”.
That stance was shifted by Newcastle United’s interest in the forward. The Magpies supposedly had a bid of their own accepted by Leipzig, yet Šeško’s desire to move to Old Trafford ultimately forced through the move. That admiration is clearly mutual.
“He has the characteristics that we needed,” Amorim told MUTV. “Ben is a player that, with all the information that we have, we need to stop the guy from working—it is not the opposite! That is also important.”
That United’s boss lionised his new arrival’s work rate should be no surprise. It is a quality he clearly cherishes. Marcus Rashford was publicly frozen out by Amorim last season largely due to his perceived lack of effort in training, while Alejandro Garnacho has been accused of a similar unflattering trait, prompting his imminent exit.
There were more tangible traits for Amorim to gush over. “He is really young, he is good in the air, he is good running the channels and he is good on the ball, so I think he has great potential. I think he can improve a lot,” the 40-year-old tactician noted. “For sure, he is going to feel at home in our club. He is the right character in this group so we are really, really happy to have him.”
Despite some dissenting voices, Amorim has been at pains to stress how positive this summer’s pre-season preparations have been. The club have actively removed unwanted members of the squad from first-team operations, banning the likes of Garnacho and Antony from the training ground before their colleagues have gone home for the day, in an attempt to remove the dark cloud which hung over last season.
“That is important,” Amorim noted, “and he is going to notice on the first day, in the first training [session] that he is in the right place. He is going to the new building and that is also important.
“Things are getting better, but in the end, we need to win games.”
READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Not the Opposite’—Ruben Amorim Delivers Encouraging Benjamin Sesko Verdict.