Michael Carrick had a neat way of describing Benjamin Sesko’s assimilation into life at Manchester United.

“He is growing as a player,” said United’s head coach. “Sometimes it’s big steps, sometimes it’s little steps. He has taken some huge ones recently.

“The confidence and belief he is playing with is great to see.”

The mighty strides Sesko has taken in United’s latest two games have placed the club in a superb position to cement a return to the Champions League after a two-year absence.

Without the Slovenian’s contributions off the bench, United would have lost at West Ham on 10 February and drawn with Everton on Monday on their first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Sesko’s goals have put Carrick’s men out on their own in fourth spot, three points behind Aston Villa and three ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool.

If his volley at West Ham was a thing of aesthetic beauty, his latest effort in Monday’s 1-0 win was a combination of endurance, running 70 yards at top speed after laying off a pass to Matheus Cunha, and calmness, to steady himself to apply the cool finish to Bryan Mbeumo’s square pass.

“It was a great finish, a ruthless finish,” said Carrick. “I like the way he put it away with real confidence.”

Watching the game for Sky Sports, former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher looked at the goal admiringly.

“Sesko has gone over 80 yards and then finishes,” Carragher said. “You expect him to be breathing heavily and panting after that. But no, he still has the energy to really celebrate.”

Sesko has taken his goals tally to eight for the season.

Remarkably, he only scored twice under Ruben Amorim, who signed him from RB Leipzig for £73.7m in August 2025.

Now he has six in his latest seven games, starting with three in two matches while Darren Fletcher was in interim charge after Amorim’s dismissal at the start of January.

That return has led many observers to feel Sesko is unlucky not to have made the starting XI for any of the six games Carrick has had at the helm.

United’s boss understands the debate. But he doesn’t feel it is especially important.

“I get why everyone is talking about it and making a big deal of it, but it is not always as extreme,” he said.

“I have got a really good relationship with Ben. We have had some good conversations, and he is in a good place.

“He obviously wants to play, but we have got some good forwards and I can’t speak highly enough of how he has been.”

For Sesko, it is about delivering when his manager asks – and he is not short on confidence to do that.

“I believe in me and so do the other players,” Sesko told Sky Sports.

“They know what they are going to get when I arrive in the game. Whether that is five minutes or 90 minutes, it doesn’t really matter. It’s about showing I can deliver if I possibly can and I’m really happy with that.”