Man Utd files: Why Rashford got no.9 shirt instead of Sesko as United turn to Ten Hag’s agent ahead of transfer deadline

KEES VOS’ SEG International agency is back on the scene at Manchester United after they assisted the club in the signing of Carlos Baleba. SEG agent Carl Thomas wrote on Instagram: “Superb deal for the company to of [sic] brokered.” Baleba joined United in a £70m deal Credit: Getty Baleba became United’s fourth summer signing Credit: Getty Well-placed sources said SEG had held productive dialogue with Baleba’s camp for a number of months before they were entrusted to help broker the £70m deal. United had not dealt with SEG for a signing in the past two years amid criticism of the club’s signing strategy under Erik ten Hag. Sign up for the Man United newsletter Thank you! SEG client Ten Hag was joined by Sofyan Amrabat and Rasmus Hojlund, both represented by SEG at the time of their arrivals at United in 2023. The club also considered a move for Cody Gakpo in the summer of 2022. During Ten Hag’s short stint at Bayer Leverkusen, his first signing was the SEG-repped Mark Flekken. Patrick Levis Nje was listed as Baleba’s agent when he moved to Brighton from Lille in 2023 and retains a Fifa license. NINE LIVES There was some surprise that Marcus Rashford received the number nine last week. Some had suggested that Benjamin Sesko was in line to receive the squad number after it was vacated by misfit Rasmus Hojlund. But Sesko never had any intention of switching squad numbers and wanted to keep the ’30’. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Sources say the number has special personal meaning to Sesko, who was worn it for Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig before he joined United. Rashford donned the ‘9’ on loan at Aston Villa last year but received the ’14’ at Barcelona and sported ’11’ for England at the World Cup. Before his series of loans, Rashford was known for wearing United’s iconic no.10 shirt. However, that jersey is now taken by the popular Matheus Cunha. Marcus Rashford is Man Utd’s new number 9 Credit: Getty Many fans thought the jersey would be given to Benjamin Sesko Credit: Getty TOUT OF ORDER The fallout continues from United’s ticket-touting clampdown. One supporter who had a standard season ticket and an executive season ticket has been banned for a year. Essentially, if the supporter would use his executive ticket for work purposes, he would forward his other season ticket to a friend or family member. United’s issue was that some of the email address recipients were “not individuals” and were therefore flagged as touts. So any email addresses under a pseudonym, rather than a standard first name and surname address, were likelier to be penalised. The supporter planned to lodge two separate appeals but was advised by the club to merge them. Now both season tickets have been blocked. And the irony is the supporter was offered tickets for this weekend’s first home game of the season against Ipswich Town – by a tout. United chief executive Omar Berrada was challenged on the club’s treatment of matchgoers by some supporters in Gothenburg this month. SunSport revealed Berrada took down the supporters’ email addresses. He had not emailed them, at the time of writing. BRU-HAHA United had quite the delegation at the PFA Player of the Year awards in the latest show of support for Bruno Fernandes. Michael Carrick, Berrada, director of football Jason Wilcox, new stadium chief executive Collette Roche, first team operations manager Acácio Valentim, director of transfer negotiations Matt Hargreaves and leadership group member Tom Heaton were all in attendance at the Manchester Opera House. Fernandes became United’s first PFA Player of the Year recipient since Wayne Rooney in 2010 Credit: Getty United had a big presence at the Manchester Opera House Credit: Getty United have been bending over backwards to show their support for Fernandes this year after Berrada told him they were prepared to cash in last year. Al Nassr made an offer of at least £80m but Ruben Amorim intervened to ensure that Fernandes remained at United. CITY SLICKER Ahead of his imminent move to United, former City youth prospect Karim Cassim took in a match featuring Darren Fletcher’s side this week. Cassim was spotted sitting on the bench among his new teammates but did not feature as his signing awaits ratification from the league. United’s Under-18s opened their Premier League Cup campaign with a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Tuesday afternoon at Carrington. Midfielder Cassim reaches the crucial age threshold to sign his first professional contract when he turns 17 on September 12. Club skipper Fernandes and Carrick welcomed a diehard United supporter in the midst of a 500-mile challenge to raise vital funds for Young Epilepsy this week. Carrick watched the Charlton academy game Credit: Getty Darren Fletcher remains in charge of United U18s Credit: Getty WHAT A KNIGHT United fan Zac Knight completed the first leg of an extraordinary journey, running and walking all the way from his home in Surrey to Old Trafford. The club invited Zac and dad James for a tour of Old Trafford and he met several first team stars at Carrington. His massive fundraiser is far from over. Zac is now mounting a bicycle to pedal all the way back to Surrey after only learning how to ride a bike earlier this year. Diagnosed with epilepsy at age eight, the teen has already raised a staggering £100,000 for the national charity, which delivers critical outreach and resources for young people living with the condition across the UK. https://zacknightsgreatbigchallenge2026.blackbaud-sites.com/ Comment now