Benjamin Šeško

Early career Šeško began his career at his hometown club Radeče when he was in the first grade. He then spent one year with Rudar Trbovlje in the under-11 selection, before returning to Radeče. In the 2017–18 season, he scored 59 goals in 23 matches for the under-15s. He debuted with Red Bull Salzburg in a 3–0 Austrian Football Bundesliga win over TSV Hartberg on 30 January 2021. Loan to FC Liefering Immediately after signing with Red Bull Salzburg, he was moved to their farm club FC Liefering, competing in the Austrian Second League. In the 2020–21 season, he scored 21 goals in 29 appearances and became the league's second-best goalscorer. He scored most of his goals in the final part of the season, scoring 13 goals in the last 7 rounds. RB Leipzig On 9 August 2022, RB Leipzig announced that Šeško would join them on 1 July 2023, on a five-year contract until 2028, for a reported transfer fee of around €24 million. On 3 September 2023, Šeško scored his first goals for RB Leipzig by netting a brace in a 3–0 away win over Union Berlin, which ended their 24-match streak without loss at home. On 19 September, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal (excluding qualifying rounds) as RB Leipzig defeated Young Boys 3–1 away from home in the matchday 1 of the 2023–24 edition. Šeško finished his first season with 18 goals across all competitions, and also became the youngest ever player to score in seven consecutive Bundesliga games at 20 years and 353 days. In June 2024, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and AC Milan all pursued Šeško, but he decided to stay with RB Leipzig, extending his existing contract by another year until 2029. During the 2024–25 season, he emerged as RB Leipzig's top scorer, setting a personal record with 21 goals in all competitions. Manchester United On 9 August 2025, Premier League club Manchester United announced the signing of Šeško on a five-year contract until 2030, thus becoming the first-ever Slovenian to represent the club. The transfer fee was reported to be an initial €76.5 million, with an additional €8.5 million in performance related add-ons. On 17 August, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal in the opening round of the Premier League. A month later, on 27 September, he netted his first goal for the club in a 3–1 away defeat against Brentford. In the first part of the 2025–26 season, Šeško scored just twice in 16 appearances under manager Ruben Amorim. However, at the beginning of January 2026, Amorim was dismissed from the head coach role of Manchester United and was replaced by interim manager Darren Fletcher in the short term, then Michael Carrick for the rest of the season. The managerial change coincided with Šeško entering a strong goalscoring run, with six goals throughout the months of January and February, which included stoppage time goals against Fulham and West Ham. ==International career==

in 2022 Eligible for Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (due to his mother hailing from Doboj), Šeško opted for the former, having represented the country at the under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-19 levels. He made his under-19 debut in a friendly game against Austria in September 2020. In May 2021, Šeško was called up by the senior team manager Matjaž Kek for a pair of friendlies in June 2021. He debuted for Slovenia in a 1–1 friendly tie with North Macedonia on 1 June 2021. At the time he was 18 years and 1 day old and became the youngest debutant in the national team, surpassing the previous record set by Petar Stojanović seven years earlier. On 8 October 2021, Šeško scored his first goal for Slovenia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Malta, becoming Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 18 years, 4 months and 8 days. During the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B campaign, Šeško helped Slovenia avoid relegation to League C with two decisive goals. He provided an assist and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Norway on 24 September 2022, and also scored in a 1–1 draw against Sweden three days later. The goal against Sweden was described as a "wonder goal" by the media, and was nominated as one of the best goals of the matchday by UEFA. Šeško was Slovenia's top scorer in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, netting five goals from nine appearances in Group H as Slovenia qualified for its first European Championship since 2000. He was later named in the squad for the final tournament, where he played in all four Slovenia's matches. The team advanced to the knockout stages for the first time and was eliminated by Portugal in the round of 16 on penalties. On 9 September 2024, Šeško scored his first international hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Kazakhstan in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B. ==Style of play==

Šeško is described as a tall, athletic centre-forward known for his powerful finishing, explosive pace, and aerial ability, standing at . He has also recorded a top speed of 35.7 km/h, which is just 1.5 km/h slower than the fastest player in the Bundesliga. Šeško is considered one of the most promising young strikers in Europe. His combination of physical strength and technical ability has led to comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimović, who he cited as a role model during his formative years. Recruitment analysts have described Šeško as a clinical forward capable of dropping into space, holding off defenders, and linking effectively with teammates in advanced positions. While he initially operated primarily as a penalty-box striker, Šeško has gradually expanded his involvement in the build-up phase, becoming more engaged in general play around the final third. He has shown improvement in his link-up play and movement off the ball, often dropping deeper to support attacking transitions and contribute to team possession beyond just finishing chances. ==Career statistics==

Club International :''Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Šeško goal'' ==Honours==

Red Bull Salzburg • Austrian Bundesliga: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 Individual • Slovenian Footballer of the Year: 2022 • Slovenian Youth Footballer of the Year: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 • PFA Premier League Fans' Player of the Month: February 2026 ==References==