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Manchester United are reportedly set to officially unveil Benjamin Sesko at Old Trafford this weekend ahead of their pre-season friendly against Fiorentina. The Slovenian striker is undergoing the second part of his medical and joins from RB Leipzig in a deal worth up to £74 million. He becomes The Red Devils’ fourth summer signing as Ruben Amorim rebuilds the squad.

Sesko joins United after completing medicalStriker to be unveiled before Fiorentina friendlyFourth summer signing for United under AmorimFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Fabrizio Romano has reported Sesko is set to complete his medical and will be presented to fans before Saturday’s friendly against Fiorentina at Old Trafford. United agreed a £66.3m deal with RB Leipzig, with potential add-ons bringing the fee close to £74m. Newcastle also bid for Sesko but failed to convince him.

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Sesko is Amorim’s fourth signing of the window after Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Diego Leon. The 22-year-old brings a proven scoring pedigree, with more goals than any under-23 player in Europe’s top five leagues over the past two seasons. United see him as a long-term solution up front.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Slovenian star arrives with high expectations at United after the Red Devils' horror campaign under Amorim last season. Sesko's arrival likely also spells the end of Rasmus Hojlund's stint as the primary No. 9 at Old Trafford.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR SESKO?

Sesko will begin training with the squad next week as he settles into life in Manchester. Amorim will assess how quickly he can integrate the striker into his system. With the new season approaching, United fans hope Sesko can hit the ground running.

Real Madrid’s superiority was challenged in the early 2000s as Valencia disrupted La Liga’s natural order, and Galácticos legend Zinedine Zidane has revealed he requested the signing of an England legend to put Madrid back on their perch.

Zidane and Real’s path to the 2001/02 Champions League final was one of the great knockout runs in club football history, beating Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals and arch-rivals Barcelona in the last four, before besting an elite Bayer Leverkusen team led by Michael Ballack in the final.

The French football legend scored perhaps his most famous goal in that final, volleying home Roberto Carlos’ looped cross from the edge of the box to win the match 2-1.

However, that triumph was the start of somewhat of a trophy drought by Madrid’s own lofty standards. They won the La Liga title the following year, but did not win another top flight title until 2007 and had to wait until 2011 before their next cup win, which was the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona accompanied English and Italian sides in dominating Europe’s elite competition, as Real president Florentino Perez adopted a policy of superstar signings to regain their status as Kings of the continent.

Luis Figo

2000

€60m

Barcelona

Zinedine Zidane

2001

€73.5m

Juventus

Ronaldo Nazario

2002

€45m

Inter

David Beckham

2003

€37.5m

Man Utd

Michael Owen

2004

€9m

Liverpool

Robinho

2005

€24m

Santos

Sergio Ramos

2005

€27m

Sevilla

Fabio Cannavaro

2006

€10m

Juventus

Ruud van Nistelrooy

2006

€14m

Man Utd

Kaka

2009

€67m

Milan

Karim Benzema

2009

€30m

Lyon

Cristiano Ronaldo

2009

€94m

Man Utd

Xabi Alonso

2009

€35.5m

Liverpool

Perez made a habit of luring the Premier League’s top talents to the Spanish capital, with Xabi Alonso revealing how Real tempted him: “I was really happy with the team (Liverpool) and my team-mates and felt that we could do great things.

“I was happy on that side but within a club you have to see the big picture and another season would have been too much for me. It was very difficult to take that decision (to leave) but it was probably for the best for me because if I had stayed another season it would have been uncomfortable for me.”

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However, not everyone caved to the temptation, with Zidane revealing he specifically asked Perez to sign Steven Gerrard, only for the Liverpool captain to refuse the move.

Zidane named Gerrard the 'best player in the world'

Indeed, Real Madrid tried to sign Gerrard once in 2005 and again in 2009, potentially making him one of their biggest signings of the Galácticos era, and Zidane claims it was him who pushed Perez to make the move, as he believed the Reds star was the number one player in world football.

Gerrard is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history despite never winning a league title with Liverpool, while his best finish on the Ballon d’Or podium was third in 2005, placing behind Ronaldinho and Frank Lampard.

There’s no doubt the Liverpool superstar was let down by his teammates in the quest to add team trophies to his individual accolades, and one has to wonder how his status in the game would be viewed if he had joined Madrid at Zidane’s request.