United View: Reds leading Sesko race

Manchester United’s pre-season in the US comes to an end with the Reds picking up the Premier League Summer Series trophy after a 2-2 draw with Everton on Sunday. 

Although it isn’t a guarantee of success in the upcoming season, there’s plenty of optimism following their tour across the pond.

Unbeaten against Premier League opposition, including wins over West Ham and Bournemouth, United have provided encouraging performances with a noticeable attacking threat. 

And off the field, Ruben Amorim and his squad have spoken well and leaving fans optimistic that the team will play like a team.

United’s Portuguese manager spoke of survival when discussing last season, managing minutes for Europe, whilst trying to stay competitive in the Premier League. 

He’s expecting to improve on the pitch and embed a positive culture amongst the team in his first full season as Manchester United manager.

Luke Shaw spoke to reporters in the US, about upping standards and the impact of Amorim, saying, “The levels in training, keeping times of when we’re doing this and doing that, making sure no one’s coming late or anything, I think we need to just all up the level of demands. That’s what I think Ruben definitely brings in – the demands.”

Amorim has appointed six players: Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot, Tom Heaton and Noussair Mazraoui as part of a players’ committee to help uphold these standards and deal with any small issues.

Amorim has already shown he’s capable of building a team of winning team after leading Sporting CP to two Primeira Liga titles, doing so after initially being appointed before the end of the season with the Portuguese club.

This isn’t to say that United are on track to win the Premier League just yet, they are still far away from competing with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal throughout a 38-game campaign, but three encouraging performances in pre-season have suggested his side will provide a greater threat this season.

Sunday gave fans a first glimpse of Bryan Mbeumo, who linked up several times with Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha despite being brought off at halftime as a result of being further behind in regard to his fitness.

Bruno Fernandes spoke to Sky following the game on the need to improve the quality of the squad, “I don’t know about it, I’m not involved in that. But obviously, it was crystal clear we needed more competition for the players that were here. We needed more quality to get everyone to step up a bit more and to have more to do to get into the starting line-up.

“I think that’s what the club and the manager are trying to do, and hopefully we can get one or two players more to help with that.”

Elsewhere, it appears United are in pole position to sign Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko.

Both United and Newcastle have made bids of around €85 million, but it seems the Slovenian has his heart set on a move to Old Trafford.

Though the fee would appear rather mouthwatering for a player who only managed 13 goals in the Bundesliga last season, his potential cannot be understated.

There have been talks of United showing interest in Villa striker Ollie Watkins, but the hierarchy at Old Trafford led by Christopher Vivell, who knew Sesko well from his time at the Red Bull Group, clearly feel the 22-year-old fits the bill- let’s hope it’s a decision that pays off.

Although it’s been a positive American tour, results in the regular season will dictate the narrative of whether United are truly improving under Ruben Amorim. 

And tests against Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea in their opening five games only make things more difficult. 

But if the manager is to be believed, United will be up for the challenge.