Paul Scholes points finger over Man Utd transfer mistake as star shines after exit

Manchester United icon Paul Scholes has taken aim at the Red Devils approach in the transfer market after signing Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in the summer window

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has questioned Manchester United’s summer transfer tactics. The former midfielder is unconvinced by the club’s approach to signing Benjamin Sesko, while allowing Rasmus Hojlund to leave.

Scholes reckons United have made a mistake by thrusting Sesko into the same position Hojlund found himself in when he arrived at Old Trafford, where he was expected to lead from the front as United’s main striker. The Denmark forward signed for the Red Devils for £72million but struggled to establish himself as a reliable goalscorer before making the move to Napoli.

Hojlund bagged 26 goals in 95 appearances for United but only 14 in the Premier League. That saw club chiefs move to replenish the forward line by signing Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha for £200m. But Scholes believes United are repeating a mistake of the past, with 50-year-old claiming they have put the 22-year-old Sesko under the exact same pressure as Hojlund.

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“You look at Rasmus Hojlund, 22-year-old kid, came when he was 20 years of age,’ Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast. “One centre-forward for Manchester United and everything was on him, the pressure was on him and he couldn’t handle it. He should be coming in and out of the team. There should be three or four centre-forwards there.

“This summer, what do they do? They let him go and they buy another one, very similar, exactly the same! 22 years of age.

“He’s started ok, he looks like he’s getting better. But where’s the common sense in that?”

Sesko has two goals in his last two Premier League matches but Hojlund has found things easier away from Old Trafford. With competition from Lorenzo Lucca, the striker has been on fire for Napoli and scored four goals in six matches.

Scholes highlighted the difference at United now, compared to the past when Ole Gunnar Solksjaer arrived. The Norwegian finished as the top goalscorer amid competition from Eric Cantona and Andy Cole, while Teddy Sheringham arrived at the end of the season.

“It’s like Ole coming over to us when he was 22 and we had no other centre-forward and he was the one playing every week,” Scholes said. “You’d kill him!”

Nicky Butt agreed with his team-mate. “That’s us as well, when we played,” he said. “They all talk about our group coming through. But we didn’t play every game, we weren’t in every week with all the pressure on our shoulders.

“You look to your left and you’d have Roy Keane, you look to your right and you’d have Bryan Robson or Brian McClair.

“You’re surrounded by unbelievable players and you think, it’s easy for me because I can play 6 out of 10 today and we’re still going to win because we’ve got all these players around us. They don’t have that now. I do feel sorry for the players.”

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