Signing Sesko over Watkins is the rare transfer win Man Utd DESPERATELY needed

Manchester United may have dodged a bullet last summer after seeing Bejamin Sesko find form while one of their former targets continues to justify the decision not to sign him.

United landed on Sesko as their big-money striker signing in a €76.5 million deal last summer after being linked to many forwards during the window such as Liam Delap, Viktor Gyokeres and Nicolas Jackson.

However, arguably one of the most-rumoured targets was Ollie Watkins after the England star grew frustrated with life at Aston Villa, while Unai Emery’s side considered his sale due to their struggles with PSR.

United were also keen on adding more Premier League experience to their squad, as seen by the dedication to signing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, and Watkins’ arrival was considered likely to happen early in the summer.

An enquiry was understood to have been made by United but Villa ultimately were reluctant to sell a key player to their rivals for anything less than €70 million – a fee United baulked at – leading to the negotiations failing to get off the ground.

Watkins remained at Villa and has continued to be a key player for Emery but the 30-year-old has come under fire from supporters for his inconsistent form this season and United will feel as though they got the right end of the deal in a rare transfer win for the club.

Watkins on the decline as Sesko grows into Man Utd’s number nine

Watkins has scored eight times in 26 Premier League games for Villa this season to help the club mount a surprise title challenge but, despite being his side’s joint top scorer, the forward has struggled with his finishing this term.

While Watkins ranks fourth for the amount of ‘big chances’ received by any player in the league this season with 18, he has also missed 12 of those, which is the fourth-most.

Indeed, Watkins’ has underperformed his xG by more than three this season – the worst across his Premier League career – and his conversion rate of 14.8% puts him right in the middle 50 percentile of players and significantly less than his 23.8% last year.

While Watkins could just be having a poor run of form, for a player now in his 30s, the fall-off could represent a natural decline for a previously elite-level goalscorer.

Regardless, Watkins is entering the final two years of his contract and it appears unlikely that Villa would receive interest in the England star to the level that they did last summer if they did choose to cash in this year.

Sesko, meanwhile, appears to be improving week-on-week, with the 22-year-old netting six times in his last seven matches, and United are gaining confidence in having the Slovenian as their leading striker for the long-term.

It can never be known just how Watkins would have fared at Old Trafford and it appears that the opportunity may have gone for the Villa man barring a resurgence to his best form in the final months of the season.

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