Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim was certainly backed by the board with new recruits to improve the squad during the summer transfer window.
The Premier League giants swooped to add Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko to their attacking ranks to completely transform their front three.
Mbeumo has produced one goal and one assist in seven appearances in the Premier League, per Sofascore, whilst Cunha is still looking for his first goal contribution for the club.
Meanwhile, Sesko has scored two goals in his last two appearances in the top-flight and has scored two goals in four starts in the division since his move from RB Leipzig in the summer.
The Slovenia international will be hoping to kick on from here and prove that he can be a consistent and lethal goalscorer for the Red Devils for many more years to come.
If he can do that, Sesko could be considered to be Amorim’s new Viktor Gyokeres, as the Arsenal striker was such an integral part of the manager’s success with Sporting.
Why Gyokeres was so important to Amorim at Sporting
Amorim won the Liga Portugal title in the 2023/24 campaign after signing the Swedish striker from Coventry City in the summer of 2023, after finishing fourth and second in the two previous seasons.
Gyokeres was so important to the Portuguese manager in that 2023/24 season because his immense performances at the top end of the pitch led Sporting to glory, winning the league title for the first time in three years.
The towering centre-forward was an absolute monster for Sporting. He scored and created goals at an exceptional rate as their number nine after his move from the second tier in England.
|
23/24 Liga Portugal |
Viktor Gyokeres |
Percentile rank vs STs |
|---|---|---|
|
Shots on target |
58 |
Top 1% |
|
xG |
22.71 |
Top 1% |
|
xG on target |
28.33 |
Top 1% |
|
Goals |
29 |
Top 1% |
|
xA |
6.08 |
Top 1% |
|
Assists |
10 |
Top 1% |
|
Chances created |
54 |
Top 1% |
As you can see in the table above, Gyokeres was the best striker in the division. He ranked at the top of the pile in pretty much every key metric as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
These statistics show that the right-footed forward was incredibly consistent for Amorim, given his output, which is why he was such an important player for the manager.
The Manchester United coach has not had a consistent attacker in that vein at Old Trafford, though, as no player managed more than eight goals in the Premier League last season, per WhoScored.
Whilst Amorim will be hoping that Sesko can be his next Gyokeres, there is a central defender who is becoming the manager’s next version of the striker.
Netherlands international Matthijs de Ligt may not be a lethal centre-forward who is going to score 30 or 40 goals in a season for the Red Devils, but his consistent performances at the back could make him the linchpin of Amorim’s team moving forward.
Why Matthijs de Ligt could be Ruben Amorim’s new Viktor Gyokeres
The best teams in the world are built around top-quality players who deliver consistently impressive performances over the course of a season.
Mohamed Salah at Liverpool. Erling Haaland at Manchester City. Vitinha at PSG. Thibaut Courtois at Real Madrid. Gyokeres during his time at Sporting. The list could go on.
The best teams all have several players who deliver consistently every week, which is what Amorim had with Gyokeres in Portugal, and De Ligt may be starting to show that he can belong in that category of player.
The Netherlands international is a no-nonsense central defender who joined the club from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2024, but it has taken him a bit of time to adjust to the intensity of the Premier League.
Not every player hits the ground running at a new club. Some players need time to adapt to their environment, and it appears as though de Ligt has finally found his feet in England.
|
Matthijs de Ligt (Premier League) |
24/25 |
25/26 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
29 |
7 |
|
Sofascore rating |
6.91 |
7.04 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
2.1 |
3.2 |
|
Clearances per game |
3.1 |
5.1 |
|
Ground duels won per game |
1.5 |
2.6 |
|
Aerial duels won per game |
2.0 |
3.6 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
61% |
69% |
As you can see in the table above, the former Ajax and Juventus star has stepped up at the start of this season after a fairly average first year in the Premier League with the Red Devils.
His improved ground duel success rate, in particular, suggests that he has adapted to the intensity and physicality of the division, as he is anticipating situations and reacting to danger quicker, which means that the centre-back is winning a higher percentage of his duels on the deck.
Former United star and England international centre-back Rio Ferdinand has noticed the improvement in De Ligt this season, praising the defender last month: “Matthijs de Ligt has been magnificent this season, solid in all departments.
“I think he’s put himself in place to be the first name on the sheet if we go by [Leny] Yoro being a sub at the weekend. De Ligt now looks like the number one choice defender in the team form the manager’s point of view.”
De Ligt has started all seven of his appearances in the Premier League this season, per Sofascore, which backs up Ferdinand’s claim that the Dutchman is the first-choice defender for Amorim at this moment in time.
The 26-year-old star, who still has time left to improve even more, has improved throughout his time at Old Trafford, as evidenced by his aforementioned statistics, and he now looks like a consistent performer who can be relied upon by Amorim.
That is why De Ligt is on his way to becoming the manager’s new Gyokeres, because he could fall into that bracket of players who deliver consistent performances in successful teams, if he can keep up his current level of performance in the Premier League.
