Merson tells Man Utd £11m man is a ‘much better player’ than £74m Benjamin Sesko

 Arsenal legend Paul Merson insists that Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta is a “much better player” than Man Utd striker Benjamin Sesko.

The Red Devils invested over £200m on new players over the summer with Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon and Senne Lammens all joining.

But those new additions have not had the desired impact as Man Utd find themselves 14th in the Premier League table after their first six fixtures of the season.

Ruben Amorim is already coming under pressure this season after struggling to a 15th-placed finish last term and Sesko only just scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 defeat to Brentford over the weekend.

Sesko arrived from RB Leipzig in a huge deal worth £74m and Merson reckons Man Utd would have been better off signing Mateta, who cost Crystal Palace £11m from Bundesliga side Mainz in 2022.

Merson said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: “Manchester United went out and signed the lad Sesko. He’s never going to score a goal because no one is crossing it to him.

“He’s got two players behind him [Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo] that play off the cuff. He’s never going to get balls in from wide so I feel sorry for him

“I said last season on transfer deadline day that Man United needed someone like Jean-Philippe Mateta. Big, strong, leads the line, he’s a threat and causes problems.

“But they’re not going to buy him because he plays for Crystal Palace, he’s not fashionable enough.

“But he’s a much better player than Sesko, much better. And he’s doing it in the Premier League week in week out. As a player you would love Mateta in your team.”