Manchester United's Ollie Watkins v Benjamin Sesko transfer decision rests one on thing

Manchester United's Ollie Watkins v Benjamin Sesko transfer decision rests one on thing

The Manchester Evening News have profiled Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko to decide which striker Ruben Amorim should sign

Manchester United transfer targets Ollie Watkins (L) and Benjamin Sesko (R) (Image: L: Visionhaus/Getty Images // R: Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Manchester United's next big decision is set to be which striker they will target to lead Ruben Amorim's attack - Ollie Watkins or Benjamin Sesko.

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As reported by the Manchester Evening News, both rate highly on the club's list of targets after missing out on Liam Delap at the start of the summer. Watkins, 29, is the current frontrunner with five seasons' worth of Premier League experience to call upon but Sesko, 22, has shown great promise in his progression through the Red Bull system.

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Well-placed sources believe Watkins would be open to joining United and therefore ending his association with Villa, whom he joined upon their promotion back to the Premier League in 2020 and has helped reach European competitions in the past two seasons.

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Sesko, on the other hand, has been a standout performer in a Leipzig team that struggled, particularly last season, as they missed out on European football. This has served to heighten transfer talk.

With United desperate to get back to the top of English football it is a choice they simply must get correct, so who should they sign? If their individual statistics over the past two seasons were to be the decisive factor, it is a tight battle.

Research by AceOdds.com, for sheer goalscoring volume, sees Watkins comes out on top. The Villa star has netted 44 times in 107 appearances compared to Sesko's 39 strikes in 87 appearances for Leipzig.

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However, judging their rate per 90 minutes it is actually the latter's return that is better, as Sesko scores 0.66 per 90 mins whereas Watkins' total only equates to 0.5. Where the Englishman can regain some honour is through assists, as he has mustered 27 for Unai Emery's side. Sesko on the other hand is a far weaker provider, only setting up eight goals.

Per 90 minutes this works out as 0.31 for Watkins and 0.14 for Sesko. Therefore as a grand total Watkins finishes with 71 goal contributions in 107 appearances and Sesko ends with 47 from his 87 outings. The striker duo are barely separable as Watkins has 0.81 goal contributions per 90 minutes to Sesko's 0.8.

Judged on basic attacking threat over the past two seasons, Watkins and Sesko are also strikingly similar as the former averages 2.8 shots per 90 minutes played whilst the latter averages 2.9.

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Marginally better for Sesko is his 23 percent shot conversion rate to Watkins' 18 percent. Watkins' expected goals per 90 minutes sits at 0.48, compared directly to Sesko in the same field with 0.5.

Again, where Watkins breaks clear is through his team play. In 90 minutes he averages 1.2 chances created but Sesko is weaker, managing only 0.7.

But by no means does this mean Sesko is not heavily involved in what his team craft. With 36.7 touches per 90 minutes, the trend suggests he tends to operate as part of a unit more than Watkins, whose average is 28.1.

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In turn, the Slovenian international manages more passes per 90 minutes at a rate of 20.8 to 15.3.

So, there is little to separate the two strikers that United have their eye on as the new season creeps closer. Both are high-quality options, but do United want a better player as things stand in Watkins, or do they go for Sesko who could be the superior player in five years time?

Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.

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