Merson tells Man Utd £11m man is a ‘much better player’ than £74m Benjamin Sesko

Arsenal legend Paul Merson insists that Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta is a “much better player” than Man Utd striker Benjamin Sesko.

The Red Devils invested over £200m on new players over the summer with Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon and Senne Lammens all joining.

But those new additions have not had the desired impact as Man Utd find themselves 14th in the Premier League table after their first six fixtures of the season.

Ruben Amorim is already coming under pressure this season after struggling to a 15th-placed finish last term and Sesko only just scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 defeat to Brentford over the weekend.

Sesko arrived from RB Leipzig in a huge deal worth £74m and Merson reckons Man Utd would have been better off signing Mateta, who cost Crystal Palace £11m from Bundesliga side Mainz in 2022.

Merson said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: “Manchester United went out and signed the lad Sesko. He’s never going to score a goal because no one is crossing it to him.

READ: Five reasons why Ratcliffe is right to pick Southgate as next Man Utd manager

“He’s got two players behind him [Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo] that play off the cuff. He’s never going to get balls in from wide so I feel sorry for him.

“I said last season on transfer deadline day that Man United needed someone like Jean-Philippe Mateta. Big, strong, leads the line, he’s a threat and causes problems.

“But they’re not going to buy him because he plays for Crystal Palace, he’s not fashionable enough.

“But he’s a much better player than Sesko, much better. And he’s doing it in the Premier League week in week out. As a player you would love Mateta in your team.”

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Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney is concerned that the Red Devils are going down the same path they’ve trodden for years as he’s “not seeing anything which is giving me any confidence”.

Rooney said on his BBC podcast: “I am not seeing anything which is giving me any confidence, there needs to be big changes in my opinion.

“Manager, players, whatever that is. Whatever it takes to get Manchester United back. There needs to be a clear message from the owners.

“Whether that is the Glazers, [minority owner] Sir Jim Ratcliffe, there has to be a message of where this club is going. At the minute we are all sitting there waiting for it to crumble.

“The culture of that football club has gone. I see it on a daily basis. I see staff losing jobs, people walking out of jobs.

“I’ve got two kids [in the academy] at that football club and I really hope this doesn’t affect what they’re doing. What I’m seeing at that football club is not Manchester United.”

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