Ruben Amorim drops January transfer hint after losing Benjamin Sesko to injury and with three stars heading for AFCON

The visitors began brightly at a boisterous Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and their patience paid off in the 30th minute when Amad Diallo whipped in a teasing cross from the right for Bryan Mbeumo to head home past Guglielmo Vicario. But the second half told a different story. Tottenham poured forward with renewed purpose, and though United goalkeeper Senne Lammens twice denied efforts from Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha, the pressure eventually told. With six minutes left, substitute Mathys Tel found space on the edge of the area and fired goalward. A deflection off Matthijs de Ligt wrong-footed Lammens and sent the ball spinning into the net. Tottenham thought they’d completed the comeback deep into stoppage time when Wilson Odobert’s speculative drive ricocheted off Richarlison’s head and rolled past Lammens. However, Amorim’s men, battered and shorthanded, refused to die. With seconds left, Bruno Fernandes whipped in one final corner, and there was De Ligt, towering above everyone, to nod home at the back post to make it 2–2. 

Sesko’s short cameo after being introduced from the bench summed up his season. There were flashes of promise, but the afternoon ended in frustration. The 22-year-old thought he’d snatched the winner moments before his injury when he raced through on goal, only for Micky van de Ven to produce a sensational sliding block to deny him. The challenge left Sesko clutching his knee and grimacing in pain.

Amorim, speaking after the match, could offer little reassurance. "We have to check. He had something in his knee, let's see," he said. When further pressed about the seriousness of the injury, he added, "I have no idea. Because it's the knee, we never know."

Sesko has scored just two goals in 11 league appearances, and at Tottenham, he once again failed to put away two half chances. When Amorim was asked if Sesko's lack of confidence was harming him, the manager brushed aside the idea and said: "No, I think... I think that is not the biggest concern now. That happened in the same way that he is not scoring and then he scores two goals in the next two games [Brentford and Sunderland], so that happens, especially with a striker. I'm more concerned with an injury because it's in the knee and I don't know. We need Ben to be a better team."

With the Africa Cup of Nations looming in December, United’s forward options could soon be stretched thin. Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui will all depart for international duty. Now, with Sesko potentially sidelined, the situation has become more urgent. The Portuguese coach admitted the club may need to dip into the transfer market once the window opens in January.

"We have to check everything, we have to check what has happened with Ben," he said.

"Of course, we are going to have a problem there [with AFCON], but we already knew. Then you can prepare that in the summer, but then you have a lot of players in the summer who are not going to play because it's one game per week. So the management of that situation is going to be hard.

"But let's see when the window is open, if we can improve the team and try to prepare something that happened. Until then, we have to take the chance."

The draw keeps United unbeaten in five matches, going into the international break. Although they have drawn back-to-back league games, at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, there has been a newfound belief in this team, and De Ligt's late equaliser is a testimony to it. Amorim will take heart from his team’s resilience, but the lack of cutting edge, and now the uncertainty around Sesko, remains a nagging concern. United return to Premier League action later this month at home to Everton, before a tricky trip to Crystal Palace closes November’s fixtures.