Ruben Amorim admits 'control freak' Benjamin Sesko is struggling at Manchester United - but tells striker to ignore Gary Neville criticism

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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted that Benjamin Sesko has faced a difficult start to his time at Old Trafford but has encouraged the young striker not to take remarks from club legends to heart. Amorim has described the striker as a "control freak" as United travel to face Tottenham this Saturday in the Premier League on Saturday - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has acknowledged that Benjamin Sesko has endured a challenging start to life at Old Trafford, but has urged the young striker not to take criticism from former players personally.

The Slovenia international arrived from RB Leipzig in the summer for £73.7 million, but has found the transition to English football difficult, scoring just two goals in his first 11 appearances.

Last weekend, former United captain Gary Neville told Sky Sports that the 22-year-old is "miles off it" compared to other summer signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo - the latter named Premier League Player of the Month for October.

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Amorim conceded that there was some truth to Neville's assessment but stressed that the context of Sesko’s situation must be understood.

Ahead of taking his improving United side to Tottenham on Saturday in the Premier League - a game that will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - Amorim has pointed out that his striker is still adapting to a new league at a young age after only two seasons in the Bundesliga.

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"I’m relaxed. [But] he’s not relaxed," said Amorim. "I understand how things are in football, and he's going to struggle – that is normal.

"He has no experience here, and then the first impact when everyone says that you are so good, you are the next big thing – and you hear about that with Sesko – and 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.

"My advice to Ben is, you are going to get used to it, and then it's going to be natural. It’s going to be like your Monday here."

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Sesko opened his account for United in their 3-1 defeat to Brentford in September, before adding a second goal a week later in the home victory over Sunderland.

With Rasmus Hojlund impressing on loan at Napoli, pressure has grown on Sesko to find form quickly and sustain the momentum of United’s recent four-match unbeaten run.

Amorim, however, remains confident in his striker’s long-term potential.

"Ben is a young kid, a control freak," added Amorim, who was named the Premier League Manager of the Month for October. "He wants to control everything - and he's not going to control everything.

"So that is part of the process, and we are going to help him, and we are going to protect Ben because he works really hard, and we want to succeed. So he's going to succeed.

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"When I started training with Ben, he had more potential than I was thinking. He’s going to struggle, and 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."

What Did Neville Say About Sesko?

Following United’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest last weekend, Gary Neville offered a frank assessment of Sesko’s performances so far.

"He's miles off it compared to the other forwards United brought in, like Cunha and Mbeumo," Neville said.

"He looks awkward; his touch was off a few times when balls went over the top.

"For €80m (£73.7m), yes, he's young and still settling, but you want to see something more."

Watch and stream the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+

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