Man Utd played with style and swagger on Monday in beating Wolves but Ruben Amorim could change plans for the game against Bournemouth.
United have often looked slicker with Matheus Cunha playing as the striker this season
As long as Benjamin Sesko overcomes a bout of food poisoning, the Slovenian striker could be back in the Manchester United team for the first time in five weeks when they face Bournemouth. The question is are United better without a striker in the team?
Sesko has had a slow start to his Old Trafford career since a £73.7million move from RB Leipzig, scoring just twice in 12 games for the club before injuring his knee against Tottenham in November. He has had just 18 shots in 11 Premier League games, with six of them coming in the 3-1 defeat at Brentford.
It hasn’t been easy for Sesko, but it wasn’t easy for Rasmus Hojlund either last season. It is clear that this United team often struggles to create chances for a natural No. 9, and it can lead to them looking detached from the team.
Go without a proper striker and things look up. Matheus Cunha might have been signed from Wolves for £62.5million to play one of the No. 10 roles – and with one goal in 13 appearances, his scoring rate is worse than Sesko’s – but when he has played as the striker, United have looked more fluid.
On six occasions in the Premier League, Ruben Amorim has asked the Brazilian to lead the line, and the only defeat was the opening day of the season against Arsenal. There have been draws against Fulham and Tottenham and victories over Burnley, Liverpool and Wolves.
Cunha might not be scoring the goals, but there could be an argument that the way he interprets his role is allowing the attack to look more cohesive. Those five unbeaten games mentioned above have produced 12 goals, although four of them did come against a woeful Wolves team.
In his six games playing as the centre-forward, Cunha has managed 19 shots, which is more than Sesko has managed in double the matches. Again, Cunha had eight of those against Wolves and perhaps Sesko will rue his luck at not being able to face a team so obliging to opposition attackers.
If the 22-year-old does return to the team at Old Trafford on Monday, it is likely Cunha will slot in as one of the two behind the striker, presumably alongside Bryan Mbeumo if the Cameroon international has avoided AFCON duty for another day. That is the £207.2million attacking trident that Amorim has pinned his goalscoring hopes on.
So far, they have started just three games together: a defeat at Brentford, a win against Brighton and a draw at Nottingham Forest. It is far too short a sample size to draw conclusions from, and even if they are reunited against Bournemouth, it will be temporary given Mbeumo’s upcoming international commitments.
Amorim will certainly want to see more from Sesko, having also made it clear he wants more from Cunha. Mbeumo is the only one to really hit the ground running. The Portuguese head coach will hope United’s improved attacking outlook will provide Sesko with the chances that weren’t there earlier in the season.
But if the return of a natural striker backfires then it could prompt the question of whether this United side are better with a little more freedom around the box, and how then best to integrate Sesko.
