During his £30 million transfer in the summer of 2004, no Manchester United fan could have imagined the huge impact Wayne Rooney would have on the club.
The Englishman spent 13 years at Old Trafford, subsequently appearing in 559 outings in the process – he is currently on the club’s all-time goalscoring list.
Such a span of time has allowed the striker to reach phenomenal levels with the Red Devils, scoring a total of 253 goals at a rate of one goal every 2.2 matches on average.
Rooney’s subsequent tally made him their record goalscorer, with such a record still standing to this day and putting him ahead of the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton.
His phenomenal results catapulted Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to five Premier League titles during his time in the North West, helping to make the club one of the most successful in English history.
Now current boss Ruben Amorim has found his own version of the fans’ favorite, but it’s not in the form of a player many would expect.
Benjamin Sesko’s United debut
After scoring just 44 times in England’s top flight last season, it was crucial that United invested in landing a new talisman – with Benjamin Sesko the man chosen by the hierarchy to lead the line.
The Slovenian cost £74m, including additions from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, but it’s safe to say his start in England was slow and took a while to explode.
He failed to score in any of his first six outings for the Red Devils, but the 22-year-old has managed to produce the goods in each of the last two outings.
Sesko has scored in each of his last two Premier League outings for the Amorim side, with his latest goal helping them to a needed victory against newly promoted Sunderland at the Theater of Dreams.
His England career may still be in its early stages, but he has already shown glimpses of quality that could make him a fan favorite for many years to come, potentially even catapulting them to new levels of success.
However, he is not the player who could emulate Rooney at Old Trafford, with another first-team member closer to resembling the Englishman in the future.
Man United’s new Rooney
In their attempts to sign top talent, United have spent more than £800 million on new signings over the past four years in an attempt to catapult themselves up the Premier League table.
Most of these funds have been wasted on players who, unfortunately, do not have the level required to succeed, as the club’s 15th place finish last campaign showed.
Amorim was unable to get the best out of the team, which arguably led to the arrival of Sesko over the summer to prevent such a scenario from happening again in the future.
However, he has previously played alongside Bruno Fernandes, with the Portugal international a player who has performed immensely despite struggling on the pitch in 2024/25.
The 31-year-old has scored 19 times and registered 18 assists in all competitions, such a tally being by far the highest of any first-team player.
Such numbers put him closer to Rooney in that he is the Red Devils’ main talisman, but it is another aspect of his game that has seen him emulate the Englishman.
Following the hierarchy’s £200million spending spree over the summer, three attack-minded players joined the club, forcing Bruno to change roles accordingly.
Fernandes, who was described as “world class” by United writer Liam Canning, has since been forced to operate in a deeper midfield role, something Rooney did during the latter stages of his career at Old Trafford.
Although such a move saw the Englishman score fewer goals in his later years, his passing ability made him a phenomenal option in this area – with Bruno emulating such levels, as evidenced by his total of 82% of completed passes in 2025/26.
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Bruno Fernandes Stats – PL (2025/26) |
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|---|---|
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Statistics (by 90) |
Scoring |
|
Games played |
7 |
|
Goals and assists |
2 |
|
Success accuracy |
82% |
|
Shots taken |
2.3 |
|
Opportunities created |
2.7 |
|
Dribbling success |
57% |
|
Tackles won |
2.1 |
|
Recoveries made |
6.2 |
|
Stats via FotMob |
|
The Portugal international may have to suffer in terms of goal numbers, but his ability to dictate play could be a huge asset to Amorim’s side in the years to come.
His passing ability could be crucial for Sesko if the Slovenian is to succeed at Old Trafford, with huge pressure placed on the youngster to deliver the goods in the Premier League.
However, neither player is likely to achieve Rooney’s cult hero status at the Theater of Dreams, with the manager no doubt wishing he could call on such a player these days.
