All summer, it looked like Newcastle United might actually win the race to sign Benjamin Sesko, but they lost out to Manchester United in the end.
At the time, that felt like a big blow for Newcastle, who were desperate to sign a top forward to lead their line this season.
In the end, the Magpies moved for Nick Woltemade in a £69m deal from Stuttgart; that’s £5m less than Man United paid for Sesko, and looks by far the better deal.
While Woltemade has made an instant impact at Newcastle, Sesko has struggled to find his feet in England and now, he’s suffered another setback.
Benjamin Sesko will miss the next month for Man United
Aside from his efforts to find form for the Red Devils, Sesko is now going to have to fight his way back to full fitness after it was confirmed by BBC Sport that he has sustained an injury.
It’s said Sesko will miss the next month due to a knee injury he picked up in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break.
At the time, Ruben Amorim and United sources had said Sesko’s injury was not a serious one, but with four weeks on the sidelines, it’s far from ideal.
The Slovenian is likely to be back for the crunch clash with Newcastle on Boxing Day, but will miss a run of fixtures stretching into early December at best.
The fact that United haven’t got the best out of Sesko yet and are now going to be without him for a month says it all about the disappointing nature of his start to life at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have enjoyed the full benefit of a fit and confident Woltemade, who shows no signs of slowing down after adapting to the Premier League with ease.
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Comparing Benjamin Sesko and Nick Woltemade
Obviously, Woltemade has Sesko beaten when it comes to goal contributions, with the German bagging five in all competitions while the Man Utd forward has two goals and one assist.
If we get more granular with our analysis, though, it’s clear Woltemade is having more of an impact in various areas of the game. For a start, Sesko is performing around his xG of 2.1, while Woltemade has exceeded his (3.5), which proves he’s taking his chances when they come.
Interestingly, though, Sesko does have a better shots on target rate (37.5% compared to Woltemade’s 31.3%). Sesko also wins when it comes to shot-creating actions per 90 (1.89 to Woltemade’s 1.84) and goal-creating actions per 90 (0.29 to Woltemade’s 0.10).
| Statistics | Nick Woltemade | Benjamin Sesko |
| Goals | 5 | 2 |
| Assists | 0 | 1 |
| xG | 3.5 | 2.1 |
| Shots on target | 37.5% | 31.3% |
| Goal-creating actions/90 | 0.10 | 0.29 |
| Shot-creating actions/90 | 1.84 | 1.89 |
| Take-on success | 41.2% | 20.0% |
| Pass success | 79.7% | 63.6% |
However, Woltemade is far more successful when it comes to taking on players, achieving a 41.2% success rate compared to Sesko’s 20% statistic.
He’s also got more progressive carries (5 compared to Sesko’s 4), has a better pass success rate (79.7% to Sesko’s 63.6%), and is better defensively, with 1.00 tackle and/or interception per 90 compared to 0.71 for Sesko.
Bundesliga experts claimed Woltemade is better than Sesko, and it looks like they’re right. The numbers prove it, and the Newcastle man has clearly looked more comfortable and assured on the pitch, too. Now, he just needs to keep this up.
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