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 stoppage-time volley to earn a point at West Ham was a thing of aesthetic beauty, his latest effort in the 71st minute of the 1-0 win at Everton was a feat of physical excellence.

It was a combination of endurance, running 70 yards at top speed after laying off a pass to Matheus Cunha, and calmness, to steady himself and coolly slot home 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 brimming with the 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."

'Brilliant' Lammens earns Van der Sar comparisons

If Sesko broke Everton's hearts at one end of the field, another summer recruit, Senne Lammens, did it at the other.

The Belgian goalkeeper kept out a blockbuster strike from Michael Keane, which Moyes felt sure was going in, then dealt superbly with a series of corners dropped under his crossbar as Everton literally tried to force an equaliser.

"Their goalie was brilliant tonight," was Moyes' blunt reaction.

"The save he made from Michael, the way he dealt with corner kicks. The pressure we had. For me, their goalkeeper was the best player."

Carrick is the one who benefits though, just as he is benefiting from the decision of United's recruitment department to block Amorim's calls to bring in Emi Martinez from Aston Villa on summer transfer deadline day and instead place their faith in a relatively young £18.1m goalkeeper with just one full season of senior football in Belgium behind him.

Lammens is 23. Sesko is 22. United might not quite be winning trophies with kids, but they have a young generation that is beginning to blossom.

It was brought to Carrick's attention after the Everton game that his former United team-mate and all-time great goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was analysing the game on TV with Carragher.

Carrick skilfully navigated the question of whether there are comparisons to be drawn between the two men.

"I've got to be careful what I say," he said.

"I don't want to be comparing them because I don't think it's fair to Senne. But there's definitely similarities.

"You want a goalkeeper to be reliable and trustworthy. Instead of creating a chaos, you want him to take the chaos away and calm things down. I think Senne is that.

"He's quite quiet at times and unassuming, but he's got real steel. It's a big role for some, and it's about being comfortable in your environment.

"Sometimes it takes time, sometimes not, but he has that calmness and composure. It helps those in front of him an awful lot."

At the start of the season, United's stated aim was to get back into Europe.

Even internally, it was felt reaching the Europa League was the most realistic target, and financial estimates were created around that.

However, in the wake of Amorim's exit, director of football Jason Wilcox spoke to the players about reaching the Champions League.

The difference in status and finance is huge.

United have now gone 10 consecutive Premier League games without defeat for the first time since a run of 14 between January and May 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

From their current position, with no European distractions, which is something Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool all have, it would be a major disappointment for them if United were not to seal a return to European football's top table.

"Manchester United are now virtually guarantees for one of the Champions League places," said Carragher. "I can't see them not making it." (BBC)