Amorim says Sesko 'ready to play' as he plots United's return to European football

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim on Friday said that newly signed forward Benjamin Sesko is ready to play, but we will see if he is going to start against Arsenal in the club's opener in the Premier League on Sunday.

United signed Slovenian Sesko from Germany’s RB Leipzig last weekend on a contract worth 76.5 million euros ($89 million) with 8.5 million in bonuses and running until 2030.

Amorim said Sesko is ready, but we will see if he is going to start.

"We didn’t have a lot of time but he is ready, physically he is ready, that is a big component in our league. Then, he's really smart... he is ready to play, we will see if he is going to start," Amorim said.

Amorim further added that Manchester United, who finished 15th last season, their worst finish in the Premier League since 1973-74, are aiming for a return to European football.

"We cannot change everything in four weeks, but we are better. We're training harder and are more prepared to cope with the demands of the game," he added.

"We want to return to Europe. We have to be realistic with our fans. We will have to fight a lot because there are more teams with time together than us. We have to focus game by game. We want to win against Arsenal."

Ruben Amorim provided an update on defenders Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui, saying they were out for the weekend but forward Joshua Zirkzee and goalkeeper Andre Onana had recovered and would be available against Arsenal.

He further said that his focus is not on the future but on living day by day and game by game.

"I learned a lot last season. I don't need to focus on the future. That doesn't matter and I don't care. I need to live day by day. Everything that is noise to our team, I take out of the picture, so I just prepare my team against Arsenal," Amorim added.