Manchester United
Amorim: Šeško Has Struggled to Settle at Old Trafford but Retains Long-Term Role
Amorim: Šeško has struggled to settle at Old Trafford but has long-term potential and support. soon.
Ruben Amorim has accepted that Benjamin Šeško has found the opening weeks at Old Trafford difficult after his move from RB Leipzig. The Manchester United manager acknowledged the 22-year-old forward has not yet settled while defending his wider position at the club.
Amorim responded to recent criticism from club legend Gary Neville, who said Šeško was “miles off it” compared with fellow summer signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, both of whom already had significant Premier League experience. Despite that scrutiny, Amorim stressed his support for the forward and framed the situation as part of a normal adjustment.
“I’m relaxed. He’s not relaxed,” said Amorim. “I understand how things are in football and he’s going to struggle. That is normal.
“He has no experience here, and then the first impact when everyone says that you are so good, you are the next big thing—and you hear about that with Šeško—and then you come to one club that is the hardest club.
“If you don’t perform every week, you are going to hear a lot of things from club legends, from pundits, from the media, and sometimes they are right. To have the ability to understand that is normal and still maintain your level of confidence is really hard for a young kid, especially for a young kid that is a control freak.
“He wants to control everything, and he’s not going to control everything. Of course, nobody likes to hear it, but he struggled a little bit and that is a fact. So let’s embrace that. It’s not personal, it’s not nothing. That is what I try to explain to the players.
“That is not personal. It’s an opinion that is going to change in three weeks. Everything that is true today, in three weeks could be a lie.”
With United linked to potential striking additions, Amorim nonetheless pledged to protect Šeško and back him for the long term. “Of course, it’s hard to hear,” Amorim continued. “But my advice to Ben is you are going to get used to it, and then it’s going to be natural. It’s going to be like your Monday here.
“So that is part of the process and we are going to help him, and we are going to protect Ben because he works really hard and we want to succeed. So he’s going to succeed.
“When I start training with Ben, he has more potential than I was thinking. He’s going to struggle and we need to understand how he likes to play also to put in our ideas.
“He is going to be our striker for the long term. But he’s going to have these struggles and these bumps during the ride, and that is a normal thing in football.”
Analytics & Stats
How Amorim’s Manchester United Lead the Minutes and Rebalanced the Attack
United have led more minutes under Amorim in 2025/26, improving goals and chance quality. This term.
Manchester United have spent more time in winning positions across the 11 Premier League games of 2025/26 than they did in the 27 top-flight matches overseen in 2024–25. United have spent more than 496 minutes leading opponents this season, equivalent to 45% of their total time on the pitch in 2025–26, per Opta.
Only Manchester City have enjoyed longer spells in ascendancy this term. Even league-leading Arsenal have not spent as much time on top, although they have found a way to end eight games in front while United only boast five wins.
Under Amorim in 2024–25 the numbers were different: across 27 games United spent 355 mins, 40 secs in winning positions and recorded seven wins. In 2025–26, across 11 games, the club has 496 mins, 5 secs leading and five wins. Stats via Opta. Correct as of Nov. 12, 2025.
United have dropped six points from winning positions this season, losing a lead to Fulham early on and repeating strange sequences against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur where they scored first, fell behind and then salvaged a 2–2 draw in both matches. Amorim wrote off the blunder against Forest as five minutes of madness but cited the enforced substitutions of Casemiro and Harry Maguire after the 72nd minute in the Spurs match as the turning point; United were 1–0 up and largely in control when those players left the field. With Matthijs de Ligt failing to offer Maguire’s assurance in a central role and Manuel Ugarte floundering in Casemiro’s absence, United conceded twice. Amorim was keen to point out United came back to score in both those fixtures.
Offensively the side are sharper. Per 90, goals have risen from 1.04 to 1.45, xG from 1.21 to 1.44, shots from 13.7 to 14.1 and xG per shot from 0.088 to 0.102 (FBref). A summer outlay of £200 million ($262.5 million) on the frontline has helped. Bryan Mbeumo has five goals this season, more than Rasmus Højlund (four) or Joshua Zirkzee (three) managed last year. Matheus Cunha scored his first goal at the end of October, and the team now uses long switches of play more frequently than any other top-flight side to present the new forwards with better chances.
Burnley
Tuanzebe Takes Manchester United to High Court Over Alleged Medical Failings
Axel Tuanzebe has lodged High Court proceedings against Manchester United over alleged failings today
Axel Tuanzebe has launched High Court proceedings against Manchester United, seeking compensation linked to injury treatment he says curtailed his time at the club. The claim, lodged in July and reported by Sky News, seeks damages calculated by potential loss of earnings through wages and bonuses and is described as being “in excess of £1 million”.
The central fact in the complaint is a stress fracture to Tuanzebe’s lower spine sustained in January 2020. The player says the injury caused “significant pain and discomfort since their development and deterioration.” United remained his employer as he missed 42 games for club and country between December 2019 and October 2020. He also missed a large chunk of the 2022–23 season before being released in the summer.
Tuanzebe’s legal case alleges that the original injury became chronic by July 2022 after he sustained the same problem on the right side of his lower spine. He contends the club’s medical staff did not provide appropriate care and specialist support, and that they failed to refer him to a third party for further assessment. The lawsuit states: “Appropriate treatment plans would, on the balance of probabilities, have resulted in the claimant avoiding the pain and discomfort set out below and would have resulted in him being able to play professional football at elite level without restriction or impediment,” the lawsuit says.
The claim accepts Tuanzebe remains a professional player but argues the condition has affected his career trajectory. “As it is, although he continues to play at an elite level, this has impacted his career and earnings.” He is currently at Burnley but, the filing adds, he is no longer able to play “without restriction or impediment.” Tuanzebe has previously spent time on loan at Ipswich Town and Stoke City.
Manchester United have declined to comment on the proceedings. The club have, the report notes, shown great improvement in recent weeks under Ruben Amorim.
International
United Permit Lisandro Martínez to Train with Argentina During Recovery
Manchester United have allowed Lisandro Martínez to join Argentina’s training camp while injured.
Manchester United have allowed Lisandro Martínez to travel with and train alongside the Argentina squad during the international break while he completes the final stages of his injury recovery. The centre back is not yet fit and was not called up for this month’s Argentina squad, but he will spend the next two weeks with Lionel Scaloni’s side.
The Argentinian Federation released a statement: “The Manchester United defender will join the Argentine national team camp to train and continue his physiotherapy with the team’s medical staff,”
“It should be noted that the player is unavailable for the friendly match against Angola.” A formal return date has not been provided.
United manager Ruben Amorim predicted things to progress “slowly” just a few weeks ago. The player remains on a recovery programme established by United’s medical staff and is at a crucial point in his return plan.
Clubs seldom permit injured players to work away from their own facilities because of tightly controlled medical protocols. The decision to allow Martínez to train with Argentina was, according to the Daily Mail, a calculated and measured call. The belief within United is that training “at a high level” with the national squad would be more beneficial than keeping him at Carrington for the next two weeks.
If the plan goes to schedule, Martínez will return to United with the club assessing how to reintroduce the 27-year-old to first-team action. United host Everton after the November international break and conclude the month with a trip to Crystal Palace. The hope is that Martínez can manage even a brief cameo before increasing his involvement over the festive period.
