Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have been dealt a major boost to their hopes of signing a striker in the upcoming transfer window. Victor Osimhen has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for a while now but, as Napoli look to tie down their talisman to a new deal, clubs may be forced to explore alternative options in January.
One of which being Benjamin Sesko; the 20-year-old, who joined RB Leipzig from sister club Salzburg in the summer, has started just three times in the Bundesliga this season, playing second fiddle to the Lois Openda. Despite fending off interest from numerous top European clubs to secure his signature, he’s yet to be given a run in the starting lineup.
According to 90min, Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Newcastle have all been monitoring Sesko’s future in Germany. With first-team opportunities hard to come by, the reports state that intermediaries have made it known that the Slovenia international could be available in January.
It’s said that the youngster is looking for more minutes as he prepares to fire his country to glory the European championships in the summer. 90min add that all interested Premier League clubs have been ‘informed of the potential of agreeing a deal’, with a loan-to-buy-obligation mooted as a possibility.
The CIES Football Observatory currently value Sesko at €50million (£43.4million) – which is significantly less than the eye-watering price tag that Napoli have reported given Osimhen. And it turns out that the Slovenian wants to follow in the footsteps of Erling Haaland, who also made a name for himself at Salzburg.
Speaking on Norwegian television channel TV 2 after Slovenia’s 2-1 win over Norway in September 2022, Sesko heaped praise on the Manchester City striker. He said: “He’s an amazing player, I’ve big respect for him, and I usually watch many YouTube videos about him.”
After the game, Sesko was spotted swapping shirts with the City star. Speaking of the encounter, the Arsenal and Chelsea target said: “I’m very happy I received Haaland’s jersey. I want [to] keep it for my jersey collection. He also said ‘well played’, I was very happy.”
Sesko was then asked if he could grow to become even better than the Norwegian one day. He replied: “It is very difficult. He is at the very, very highest level. Only a few per cent manage to be at that level.”