In an inevitable twist of fate, Michael Carrick’s first game in charge back at Manchester United will be the Manchester derby, with Pep Guardiola’s side heading to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Intriguingly too, that lunchtime match-up will also see Antoine Semenyo take to the field for his first Premier League game for the visitors, having already scored on his FA Cup and Carabao Cup debuts for the Etihad side.
Signed for a fee of around £62.5m by title chasers Manchester City, the Ghanaian has settled in so smoothly in his new surroundings, fresh off the back of his ten-goal haul in the league already this season at Bournemouth.
The man who scored the Cherries’ first goal against United just a few weeks ago in that 4-4 thriller, Semenyo could well wreak havoc at the Theatre of Dreams again.
Just how INEOS must wish they had him on their books instead…
How close Man Utd came to signing Semenyo
United, then led by Ruben Amorim, had started so brightly against Andoni Iraola’s side, taking a deserved lead through Amad, while missing a spate of subsequent chances to kill the game off.
Bournemouth were on the back foot, although in one moment of magic, the scoreline was level, with Semenyo pouncing on a Luke Shaw error to surge his way into the penalty box, before rifling past Senne Lammens unopposed.
Deadly, direct and downright unstoppable, the 26-year-old proved on that December night just why INEOS were so keen to sign him, having reportedly been frontrunners for his signature at one stage.
Frustratingly, the ex-Bristol City man had different ideas in mind, opting for Champions League football and an instant title race under Guardiola, rather than joining the chaos at Old Trafford.
That decision, as relayed by The Athletic, may well have been impacted by United’s choice to move away from pursuing the forward over the summer, even after having met Semenyo, with Bournemouth’s £70m plus price tag said to have been prohibitive.
To the player’s probable confusion, the Red Devils then pivoted to Bryan Mbeumo as an alternative, albeit while ultimately settling on a deal for a similar price of around £71m all in.
Another approach heading into January thus fell on deaf ears, with Carrick now tasked with trying to stop the new City star on Saturday. Excitingly, however, he will at least have his own attacking weapon to unleash.
The Man Utd 'monster' who's worth more than Semenyo
Perhaps, there could have been a world in which United lined up with a fluid front three at the start of last season, had Semenyo been signed alongside Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
Market Movers
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Instead, INEOS completed that triumvirate with a non-Premier League asset in the form of Benjamin Sesko, forking out £74m to sign the Slovenian from RB Leipzig.
In hindsight, selecting Sesko over Semenyo may well have backfired, although recent evidence might suggest otherwise, with United’s new number 30 having begun to find his groove in the post-Amorim era.
Devoid of service and opportunities in the Portuguese’s 3-4-2-1, the 22-year-old has come alive in recent games, scoring twice in the 2-2 draw at Turf Moor, including a perfectly taken guided finish from Patrick Dorgu’s whipped cross.
Sesko’s opener had also come from a threaded Bruno Fernandes pass, with the pair also combining in the first half for a headed chance that was spectacularly saved by Martin Dubravka.
Having the striker – who also nodded in Fernandes’ corner at the weekend – working in tandem with the United skipper should well elevate his goal return, ensuring the switch to a 4-2-3-1 under Carrick could well be the perfect fit.
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Indeed, at Middlesbrough, Carrick oversaw the rise of journeyman striker Chuba Akpom, helping the ex-Arsenal man to hit 28 league goals in 2022/23, an anomaly of a season considering the forward’s career before or since.
Sesko vs PL Summer Signings*
Player
PL Games
PL Goals
Sesko
17
4
Isak
10
2
Ekitike
18
8
Gyokeres
19
5
Delap
12
1
J. Pedro
21
6
Woltemade
18
7
Calvert-Lewin
19
9
*selected
If supplied with the goods, Sesko showed against Burnley that he too can be a consistent goalscorer, previously netting 39 goals in 87 games during his time at Leipzig.
He is undoubtedly a “monster” talent, as hailed by analyst and scout Ben Mattinson, a fact reflected in his market value of £79m, as per CIES Football Observatory, ahead of Semenyo’s own worth of £69m.
All eyes may be on Semenyo and City’s own leading marksman, Erling Haaland, but with Carrick now at the helm, this could be just the beginning of a fruitful period for Sesko at United.
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