Why Sesko invited a fan to Carrington

The Slovenian netted his first Old Trafford goal against Sunderland at the start of October, and celebrated by wheeling away towards the home fans to let out his signature jumping fist-pump.

Photos after the game showed a fan in the crowd mirroring Sesko's elation, and an appeal was swiftly put together by the striker to find the supporter.

The post went viral across social media, and the Red in the crowd, Stuart Heaton, was found and invited to the training ground, as a guest of Benjamin. Here's how his morning unfolded...

Stuart arrived at Carrington on a crisp, yet surprisingly sunny, Friday morning, with his son, Jake Heaton, and the young son of a family friend, Ollie Cooper, who has been a season-ticket holder at Old Trafford since being just six weeks old.

The trio travelled from Chorley, just outside Preston, which is around 40 minutes away from our training base, but Stuart would have gone to much greater lengths for the occasion.

"I would have driven from Australia for a day like this!" Stuart exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear as he awaited the arrival of Sesko at reception.

The towering striker arrived not long after, looking just as pleased as Stuart to finally meet the man he'd put so much effort into finding online.

The United centre-forward was straight over to take photos with the three fans and sign young Ollie's shirt, but not before Stuart presented the striker with a gift of his own.

He wasted no time unwrapping the present, which was a beautifully framed recreation of the special moment that had brought Sesko and Stuart together.

The Friday morning was a first-team training day, so after marvelling at the picture for a few moments, Sesko was away, gift in hand, for a meeting – but there was plenty more to come for the trio.

After a good chat with MUTV presenter Mark Sullivan in the VIP room, Stuart and co were taken out to the pitches, where coaches were setting up that day's session.

Out there, they met legendary former kitman Albert Morgan, who talked through his role in the move to Carrington at the turn of the century and delivered blistering anecdotes about some of Stuart's favourite Reds from the Sir Alex Ferguson years, although the lifetime United fan is just as optimistic about the future ahead with Ruben Amorim.

"I've never known the fans love a manager [like they do Amorim]," Stuart told MUTV. "They used to sing, 'Fergie, Fergie, give us a wave' but Ruben, it's constant: 'Ruben Amorim' all the way through the game. We love him."

Much of the day's itinerary had been kept a secret from Stuart and Ollie, with Jake liaising with Sesko's agent and club staff ahead of the visit.

It was a wonderful surprise for the unsuspecting pair, therefore, when they were brought down to that day's gym session, attended not only by Sesko but almost the entire first-team squad, including the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and more.

"There's Kobbie!" whispered Ollie as the midfielder walked by the group to collect some equipment, the young Reds supporter in disbelief at how close he was to the United star. As a budding centre-back, however, his idol is Leny Yoro, whom he later met when the visiting trio took centre stage for a team photo, before getting shirts signed by the whole squad.

Judging by the reaction, that gym visit alone would have been enough for all three to go home happy, but there was still time to pop back outside and snatch a glimpse of the on-pitch section of the day's training, as Amorim's men put in their final preparations ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion's visit to Old Trafford a day later.

As the players were filtering out, Amorim himself emerged and bounded over to meet the supporters, taking the time to have photos with the group, provide his autograph, and laugh about the uncharacteristic kindness of the Mancunian weather on the day.

"It doesn't get better," Stuart said of his once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"It just shows that, you know, we're a family club. We are a family club. We love our fans, and the fans love the players.

"This is heaven. It's almost like a dream and you're trying to pinch yourself and think, 'I'm going to wake up now, I had a great dream last night!' But no, it's not a dream. It's reality."

Rest assured, Stuart had time to tell Sesko he'll be in the same spot for his next goal at the Theatre of Dreams, and the fan certainly won't be muting his celebrations anytime soon.