As per that featured image, you can see that this post is going to discuss Ollie Watkins and Benjamin Sesko. However, I'm going to use them more as examples of what United need at the moment.
Just because a player is PL-proven doesn't make them better than a foreigner and vice versa. Any player can be great, any player can flop regardless of where they come from.
But considering the position we're in as a club, we CANNOT be taking risks! United need more experienced and ready-made players for the now that could help us get more immediate results rather than sign players who are exciting and filled with potential but there's less of a guarantee that they will be successful.
This is where I bring in Sesko and Watkins.
No doubt the Leipzig striker has incredible talent and is one to watch out for in the future but is he what MUFC need right now? I understand the excitement us fans feel towards this player (Arsenal wouldn't have been keen on him if he wasn't good) and I would be very happy if he were to join but I'm looking more at the numbers.
Between him and Watkins, who is likelier to provide Amorim with immediate success?
Let me ask this question:
What is your goal for the upcoming season? Now think about which player is likelier to help you to achieve this goal.
And goal is an apt word.
Over the past season, one of United's biggest issues is that we didn't score enough. In fact, in 38 league matches, we scored just 44 goals which is just over a goal a game. When looking at our forward line, Mbeumo himself scored just 1 fewer than Hojlund, Zirkzee, Amad and Garnacho, combined.
The strikers netted just 7 goals in 54 PL games. A truly horrific record for United's no 9s. Yes this does also depend on the team creating chances for them yet even still, those numbers are atrocious.
Looking at the more experienced centre-forwards we've had before that, Edi Cavani scored 10 goals in 26 PL appearances in 20/21, Ronaldo had 18 in 30 games in 21/22 with Zlatan scoring 17 times in 28 games back in 16/17. These guys were too old and didn't last long but what they did for a short period isn't something that should go unnoticed and should actually be a great example for what I mean when talking about United needing experience.
Watkins isn't on the same level as those three above. But what he does have on them is age as he isn't quite 30 yet whereas Cavani, Ronaldo and Zlatan were all well into their 30s, and other than CR7, Watkins is PL-proven which gives him an advantage over most.
And the thing is with him, people act as if he's older than he is, that he's more injury prone than he is and that we're signing someone like Jamie Vardy instead who is well past it and shouldn't be anywhere near United.
If you look at the past four seasons, other than 21/22, Watkins has been in the top 10 scorers in the last three with a total of 50 goals! There has only been one United striker in the top 10 in this period:
Cristiano Ronaldo - 18 (21/22).
This is without Watkins' assists. In the last two campaigns, he's grabbed 21 with his 13 in 23/24 putting him atop the charts. This is from a striker.
Add these numbers to Mbeumo's 20 goals and 7 assists and Cunha's 15 goals and 6 assists on top of Bruno doing his thing, goals and maybe even creativity may not be as much of a problem. Those first three all can create and score for themselves if needed as well.
Mbeumo was also speaking about Watkins. The pair played together at Brentford in the Championship before Watkins made the switch to Villa in 2020. The Cameroonian said this about his former teammate:
“He’s a very complete striker. He offers a lot he can drop deep, which really benefits me or any winger by creating space to exploit" speaking to Rio Ferdinand.
They already have an understanding which can make things even easier for someone like Watkins to embed into this team along with Mbeumo. Two players who are already familiar with each other's game can make a huge difference.
In contrast, Sesko has 27 goals and 7 assists in the last two seasons in the Bundesliga. He also isn't experienced, PL-proven, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure he fits Amorim's system as well as Watkins. I think the Englishman is better suited to the 3-4-3 even if he isn't actually perfect.
You can read more about their suitability here.
I'm not saying that I want Ollie Watkins to be our striker for the next decade or even five years. All I'm saying is for the next two seasons at least, do what you did at Villa and I would be happy. Those 15-20 goals and around 10 assists added to that of Cunha, Mbeumo, Bruno and Amad, would make a MASSIVE, massive difference for us. Add around 30 more goals to our 44 last season and that 74 will mean that only Liverpool will have scored more than United. That would've put us much higher in the table as well.
I know that that may be jumping the gun a little but it's not out of the realms of possibility. Sesko doesn't guarantee such numbers or is less likely to. He is also another young forward at just 22 so what would we do with all these young forwards (Sesko, Hojlund, Zirkzee, Chido Obi)? We've also been crying out for so long that not only do our strikers need mentors but in general, the squad needs experience.
Watkins ticks all the boxes for me. We have to go with him even if he might cost us a little more than we would like. £50m max for me, anything more and then I would have to concede that that is too much and we should walk away. He is 29 (will be 30 in December) and has three years left on his deal. It also appears that he and the manager have a bit of beef similarly to Garnacho and Amorim so that should knock his value down a bit considering that the player is somewhat unwanted by Unai Emery and he also wants to leave, similarly to Garnacho.
Sesko also won't come cheap as Leipzig want around £70m for him. That is an expensive risk and one that we've already taken with Hojlund.
What I will say about Sesko and Watkins is that either option is still a top option. I can't actually believe we're in this position of being able to sign a top striker after failing on Gyokeres, Osimhen and Ekitike. You would've thought that when going down to options 4, 5 and 6, that they would be the Vardys and Calvert-Lewins of this world.
Sesko and Watkins are pretty great. That's weird.
PL-prove and experience is key
When it comes to PL-proven and experienced players in general, you could see that there is more success to them than those who aren't.
I already mentioend the likes of Zlatan, Cavani and Ronaldo, but there are several others that have proved their worth.
But let's look at why these players are more of a guarantee than foreign stars full of potential.
The Premier League isn't a place to learn. We know that this league is very fast, physical and ruthless. This is what Casemiro had to say on it after spending a decade in La Liga: ”I’m not trying to underestimate La Liga, but the games here [Premier League] are much more difficult", speaking back in 2023.
That's coming from the best DM of the past decade who has been there and done it all.
You can also look at United players who struggled in England but went elsehwere and performed: Chris Smalling, Scott McTominay, Antony at Real Betis and in the Eredivisie before he joined United.
There's is also no settling in period for those who have been in this league before whereas most others need months or even a season to get to grips with the league, if they do at all. This is even harder for young players.
Yes it doesn't mean that PL players are world class but they are battle-tested as they are already familiar with the tempo, don't need babysitting, understand the demands and even understand things such as the officials and going away to tough away grounds like St James' Park and Craven Cottage.
Foreigners still have their place but timing is key. If you have Sesko and Watkins for example, that would be ideal. The young buck learning from the tried and test PL player. In this situation, it would be what we all want.
Some examples of players from oversees who've struggled include the likes of Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Hojlund, Radamel Falcao, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Donny van de Beek and Andre Onana. Those who've truly succeeded include Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui (although it's only been a season for them but in these two, the fact that they've played for other big clubs would've helped them embed into United and the PL better).
There are also those who've been in the PL but flopped at United most notably Mason Mount and Alexis Sanchez.
But given their abilities and expectations, the likes of Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Christian Eriksen, Nemanja Matic and even Marouane Fellaini were all more successes than failures.
To be honest, we don't often buy the best PL-proven players but as per our low success rate with transfers in general, we don't usually buy too well full stop.
However, if we did want more immediate success and players who can help the young ones we already have, then we need the likes of Watkins. Casemiro, Varane, Zlatan, Cavani, Ronaldo all provided that mentor in the changing room who demanded respect. Not all were PL-proven but just that sheer experience of having been there and done it changed our fortunes, even if it was for a short period.
The problem for me was that we didn't look for those players' replacements whilst they were still at United. We needed Yoro to come in while Varane was still there; It would've been great if Hojlund had Ronaldo and Cavani to learn from before they departed.
The whole point of this post was to make it known that we aren't in a position to be taking risks. Yes any deal is a risk but some less so than others.
We've had these young, developmental players who've struggled, even more so when a lot of pressure has been put on them to be successful due to others being shite. This has resulted in mixed seasons and feelings towards them. Hojlund is a great example. We've had no other true no 9 over the past two seasons and after a decent first year, much was expected of the then 21 year old to be the next big thing. He failed utterly last sesason and is why we're in this position of needing to find a new striker.
This isn't Hojlund or any other young player's fault as it's the board's responsibility to bring in the right profile of player for where we're at as a club. These youngsters have just had to take the hits because there was no one else.
I believe that one of our targets for next season is to qualify for the Champions League and maybe win a cup or two. The better bet for achieving that for me, is to go for the PL-proven Watkins over the young Sesko. I think we're more in need of that for where we are right now.
The signings of Mbeumo and Cunha are exactly what's required. I think a lot of us feel more confident about them being successful knowing that they're a good age but also experienced and PL-proven.
Watkins could help in the short-term which in turn, could help in the long run.
Do you agree that PL-proven and experience in general is more the way for United to go at the moment? Or would you take that risk on a young foreigner who hasn't played in the PL?
Old Trafford | Photo by Winston Tjia on Unsplash
Benjamin Sesko: Maja Hitij/Getty Images via PSG Talk
Ollie Watkins: Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images via The Busby Babe