‘Nowhere near’ – Gary Neville sends warning over Benjamin Sesko and questions ‘strange’ Man Utd move after Fulham draw

GARY NEVILLE has revealed his damning verdict of Manchester United new boy Benjamin Sesko.

Sesko, 22, arrived from RB Leipzig the week before the season in a deal which could reach up to £74million including add-ons.

GettyBenjamin Sesko struggled to get into the game after coming off the bench during Man Utd v Fulham[/caption]

Sky SportsFormer United star Gary Neville said he is currently ‘nowhere near’ where he needs to be[/caption]

AlamyNeville also questioned a ‘strange’ decision made by Ruben Amorim later on[/caption]

However, the 6ft 5in Slovenian ace is yet to start for the Red Devils this season.

Instead, he has made two appearances off the bench as Ruben Amorim‘s side have delivered a 1-0 loss at home to Arsenal on the opening day and a 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday.

Sesko has played just 62 minutes of Premier League football overall, but United icon Neville has suggested the striker remains some way off the pace he needs to be at.

Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast following the stalemate, Neville said: “The problem in the second half is that it opens up… and it’s a little bit worrying that Fulham got stronger after they made their substitutions and United got worse when they made theirs.

“Sesko at the moment – let’s just say it, he is nowhere near in terms of fitness or getting up to speed.

“Obviously, there is a clamour to play him. Even I was saying last week let’s get him straight in. 

“[Amorim] is going to have to get Sesko in against Grimsby and give him 90 minutes so that he can be played [from the start] against Burnley next Saturday because you can see he needs football.”

United enjoyed a bright start against the Cottagers in Sunday’s late kick-off, before a Bruno Fernandes penalty miss gave way to a performance with many echoes of last season.

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Leny Yoro‘s deflected header put United into the lead in the second half before defensive mistakes saw Emile Smith Rowe ghost into the area unmarked to poke the ball into the net.

Sesko was benched for a second week running in favour of Mason Mount playing in the front three, while Matheus Cunha started centrally instead.

He came on for Casemiro in the 53rd minute, but did not have the desired impact and failed to even have a shot.

Neville continued: “What you can’t do is let a player of that value, that potential, just keep being on the bench.

“The problem he’ll have is that he wants to keep Mason Mount in the team. 

“But when Sesko did come on and Mount went into midfield and they took Casemiro off, they did get opened up and it looked [more likely] that Fulham would score.”

Neville, 50, also questioned the reason behind Amorim’s “strange” choice of substitutions later on, as Yoro and Luke Shaw were replaced like-for-like by defenders Harry Maguire and Ayden Heaven.

He added: “The strange one for me was the change of the back line with Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw going off with five minutes to go.

“You don’t want to be changing that back line if you can help it.”

The draw leaves Amorim’s side still searching for their first win of the season.

A League Cup trip to League Two Grimsby is up next for the Red Devils on Wednesday before United host newly-promoted Burnley on Saturday.

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