Benjamin Šeško
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Here comes Benjamin Šeško, born May 31st, 2003, a Slovenian professional footballer making waves as a striker for Premier League giants Manchester United and the Slovenia national team.
Šeško's journey began at 16, joining Red Bull Salzburg in 2019 from Domžale. A loan spell with Salzburg's reserve team, FC Liefering, saw him rack up an impressive 22 goals in 44 games in the Austrian second tier. His Red Bull Salzburg debut in January 2021 marked the start of a trophy-laden period, securing three Austrian Bundesliga titles and one Austrian Cup. Then, in July 2023, he moved to German club RB Leipzig, where he continued his scoring spree, notching 39 goals in 87 appearances and clinching a DFL-Supercup.
Internationally, Šeško represented Slovenia at youth levels before becoming their youngest senior debutant in 2021, at just 18. He cemented his place in history by becoming Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer that same October.
His early career saw him hone his skills at his hometown club Radeče, then with Rudar Trbovlje and Krško, where he exploded with 59 goals in 23 matches for the under-15s in the 2017-18 season. A year at Domžale preceded his move to Red Bull Salzburg on June 3rd, 2019, signing a three-year professional contract. His senior debut for Salzburg came on January 30th, 2021, in an Austrian Football Bundesliga win.
Immediately after joining Salzburg, he was loaned to FC Liefering, the club's farm team. In the 2020-21 season, he was the league's second-best goalscorer with 21 goals in 29 appearances, scoring 13 in the final seven rounds.
On August 9th, 2022, RB Leipzig announced Šeško would join them on July 1st, 2023, on a five-year deal. His impact was immediate. On September 3rd, 2023, he scored his first goals for Leipzig, a brace in a 3-0 win over Union Berlin, ending their impressive home unbeaten streak. He then scored his first Champions League goal on September 19th against Young Boys. He finished his debut season with 18 goals across all competitions and became the youngest ever player to score in seven consecutive Bundesliga games.
Despite interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and AC Milan in June 2024, Šeško chose to extend his contract with RB Leipzig until 2029. The 2024-25 season saw him emerge as Leipzig's top scorer with a personal best of 21 goals.
Then came the seismic move. On August 9th, 2025, Premier League club Manchester United announced the signing of Šeško on a five-year contract, making him the first Slovenian to represent the club. The transfer fee was a significant €76.5 million, with add-ons. He made his debut on August 17th, coming on as a substitute in a loss to Arsenal. His first goal for the Red Devils arrived on September 27th, in a defeat against Brentford.
Internationally, Šeško, eligible for Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, chose his ancestral homeland, representing Slovenia at various youth levels. He debuted for the senior team on June 1st, 2021, against North Macedonia, becoming their youngest ever debutant at 18 years and 1 day old. His first international goal followed on October 8th, 2021, against Malta, making him Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer.
He played a crucial role in Slovenia's 2022-23 UEFA Nations League B campaign, scoring decisive goals to avoid relegation. He provided an assist and the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Norway and scored a "wonder goal" against Sweden. Šeško was Slovenia's top scorer in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, leading them to their first European Championship since 2000. He featured in all four of Slovenia's matches in the tournament, where they reached the knockout stages for the first time. On September 9th, 2024, he netted his first international hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Kazakhstan.
Šeško's style of play is that of a tall, athletic centre-forward, standing at an imposing 1.95 meters. He's known for his powerful finishing, explosive pace, and aerial prowess, with a top speed that rivals the fastest in the Bundesliga. Considered one of Europe's most promising young strikers, his physical strength and technical ability have drawn comparisons to Zlatan Ibrahimović, whom he cites as a role model. Recruitment analysts praise his clinical finishing, ability to drop into space, hold off defenders, and link up effectively with teammates. While initially a penalty-box striker, he's expanded his game, becoming more involved in build-up play and improving his movement off the ball.
His career statistics speak volumes, with numerous goals for both club and country.
Šeško's trophy cabinet already boasts multiple Austrian Bundesliga titles and an Austrian Cup with Red Bull Salzburg, followed by a DFL-Supercup with RB Leipzig. Individually, he's been recognized as Slovenian Footballer of the Year and Slovenian Youth Footballer of the Year multiple times, highlighting his exceptional talent.
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Benjamin Šeško (pronounced [ˈbeːnjamin ˈʃɛːʃkɔ], born 31 May 2003) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the Slovenia national team.
Šeško joined Red Bull Salzburg aged 16 in 2019 from Domžale. He was loaned to the Salzburg's reserve team FC Liefering for two seasons, where he scored 22 goals in 44 games in the second tier of Austrian football. He made his first-team debut for Red Bull Salzburg in January 2021 and went on to win three Austrian Bundesliga titles and one Austrian Cup. In July 2023, Šeško joined German club RB Leipzig, where he scored 39 goals in 87 appearances over two seasons, and won one DFL-Supercup.
Šeško represented Slovenia at youth international level, before becoming the youngest player to appear for the senior national team in 2021, aged 18, and scored his first goal for the national team in October 2021, making him Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer.
== Club career ==
=== 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 2016 he transferred to Krško, where he played for the under-15s and under-17s. In the 2017–18 season, he scored 59 goals in 23 matches for the under-15s. In 2018, Šeško joined Domžale, where he stayed for one season.
=== Red Bull Salzburg ===
At the age of 16, on 3 June 2019, Šeško signed a three-year professional contract with Red Bull Salzburg. 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.
== International career ==
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 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in). 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 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 ===
As of match played 27 September 2025
=== International ===
As of match played 8 September 2025
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
Austrian Cup: 2021–22
RB Leipzig
DFL-Supercup: 2023
Individual
Slovenian Footballer of the Year: 2022
Slovenian Youth Footballer of the Year: 2021, 2022, 2023
== References ==
== External links ==
Benjamin Šeško profile at the Manchester United F.C. website
Benjamin Šeško national team profile at NZS (in Slovene)
Benjamin Šeško club profile at NZS (in Slovene)
Benjamin Šeško – UEFA competition record (archive)
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