Who is Benjamin Sesko? 6ft 5 striker who rejected Manchester United & could sign for Arsenal this summer

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Reported €65m transfer fee 

As the transfer window kicks into top gear, rumours are beginning to circle about a number of deals that could take place this summer. One persistent area of interest remains around Arsenal’s hunt for a striker. Although Kai Havertz stepped up brilliantly for the Gunners at the end of the 2023/24 season, scoring nine and assisting six in his last 14 matches, many feel Arsenal still need an out-and-out striker to bridge that gap between themselves and Manchester City. RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko could just be that man. Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for the Slovenian this summer, who has a market value of €50m. He is reportedly available for a fee in the region of €65m. There have also been some reports suggesting that Chelsea could try and hijack the deal. 

So who is Sesko and is he what the Gunners need? It’s hard to avoid direct comparisons between Man City striker Erling Haaland and Sesko. Both played for Red Bull Salzburg before heading to the Bundesliga. Both players are six foot five and superb in the air. Both players have been tipped as one of Europe’s top prospects at a young age. And ultimately Haaland’s goals were perhaps the difference between Pep Guardiola’s team and Mikel Arteta’s side last campaign. Arsenal may need their own Haaland, and could be hoping Sesko, who turned 21 last week, develops into just that.

Benjamin Sesko’s time in Austria and Germany

Sesko, a native of Slovenia, signed for Red Bull Salzburg back in 2019 for €2.5m from Slovenian team NK Domzale. He was just 16 years of age at the time. Dorian Schuster is Transfermarkt’s area manager in Austria and reflected on Sesko’s beginnings at Salzburg: “In Austria, Sesko had quite a tough start, as every Salzburg-youngster has too. He had to play for the second team first and there he only managed to score once in his first season.” Nevertheless things did improve as Schuster remembers; “The second season was way better and he scored 21 goals and was promoted to the first team. There he never managed to live up to the expectations though – he was very inconsistent and in 2021/22 scored just 11 goals in 37 games, which, in terms of Salzburg, is absolutely mediocre.”

Schuster continued to note Sesko’s development in Austria: “In August 2022 he then signed for Leipzig for the 2023/24 season, but this seemed to impact him a little at first and up until March he moved between the starting 11 and the bench. In the last games of the season, however, he managed to show his talent to the fullest for the first time in the Austrian Bundesliga and ended the season as the third top scorer with 16 goals. It has to be said, that of all the strikers, that went through Salzburg in recent years, with the likes of Haaland, Patson Daka, Karim Adeyemi… Sesko was probably the most underwhelming, regarding expectations and output.”

Tobias Kröger is part of the German team at Transfermarkt and watches the Bundesliga closely – and he was full of admiration for Sesko: “Sesko is definitely one of the most promising strikers in the world right now,” Kroger claimed. “After coming to the Bundesliga he needed some time to adapt to the league, but performed very well in the second half of the season. Regarding his abilities as a striker, he really has the whole package: He’s tall, is absolutely rapid, has a powerful shot, and is very good in the air. I think he is made for the Premier League, and every top club in need of a striker should be looking to sign Sesko.” Sesko did only play 50% of RB Leipzig’s minutes this season and is still somewhat seen as a work in progress, but one with enormous potential.

Rejecting Manchester United

Several Premier League clubs have been rumoured to be interested in Sesko for a while now. One club consistently linked with him has been Manchester United, and the Red Devils came very close to signing him from Red Bull Salzburg. Sesko spoke exclusively to Transfermarkt last September about the failed deal: “The thing is, I was not really into that kind of conversation,” Sesko said when confronted with Man Utd’s interest in signing him. “But I think, yeah, I think it was better just to come here,” Sesko added referring to RB Leipzig. Man United instead opted to bring in Danish striker Rasmus Højlund last summer for €73.90m.

Instead, Sesko opted to remain within the Red Bull system, becoming the 20th player to move from Salzburg to Leipzig. Leipzig secured the striker in the summer of 2022, but left him in Salzburg for one more season, where he scored 16 goals and four assists in 30 Austrian Bundesliga games. “It was really important for me to go to a place that was playing a similar style of football,” Sesko said when asked about choosing Leipzig over other clubs. “I already knew what to do and didn’t have to go through an entire learning process again.” It will, however, most likely be a huge learning process if Sesko is now to go to Arsenal and work under the rigorous tactical management of Arteta.

How would Benjamin Sesko fit in at Arsenal?

As previously touched upon, Havertz has done a stellar job leading the line during the Premier League run-in after being given his opportunity through the middle, initially due to a Gabriel Jesus injury. And it seems Havertz sees himself continuing up top next season, with the German recently saying; “I clearly see myself as a number 9 in the national team – and that’s what I am now at Arsenal. But I don’t mean the classic nine. Even Haaland or Harry Kane, who you immediately think of, don’t just stand in the box and wait for the finish. The players who are waiting there no longer exist in modern football. I am someone who enjoys letting go and making deep runs, but it is also clear that I will be measured by goals.” It’s fair to say after his end to the last campaign, Havertz deserves another crack as the main striker, but Sesko could provide the competition to spur the German on rather than hinder his opportunities. 

One attribute Arsenal will almost certainly need to add to their ranks next season is pace. Particularly in attacking areas. It’s an area where Arteta’s team lacked depth this season, and forced the Gunners to often play an out-of-form Gabriel Martinelli because he was the only Arsenal attacker with raw speed. And the only forward able to give the team that outlet on the counter attack. According to the Bundesliga’s website, Loïs Openda and Sherldo Becker were the only strikers that recorded a faster running speed than Sesko’s 35.47kmph this season. Martinelli was the only Arsenal player to record a faster speed than that in the Premier League in the same period of time. There have even been rumours that Arteta considers Sesko as an option on the left-wing as well as a central striker. 

With record revenues at the club last season, Champions League prize money, and some potential outgoings, there is likely to be money for Arsenal to spend this summer. Bringing in another striker will probably be an area the club addresses. With Sesko’s pace and height, and age on his side at 21, he could tick a lot of boxes for Arteta and add another dimension to Arsenal’s game. At the reported fee of €65m, it wouldn’t completely break the bank either, and would leave room for improvements in other positions too. With Arteta’s track record of vastly improving younger players, Sesko and Arsenal could just well be a good fit.