Why Arsenal are looking to win the race for £60m rated Sesko

The Red Bull group's tried-and-tested in-house progression pathway has developed talents such as Dayot Upamecano, Dominik Szoboszlai and Erling Haaland.

Benjamin Sesko’s rise through the same talent development pipeline has been rapid. He spent two seasons at feeder club FC Liefering, two more at Red Bull Salzburg before making the jump to the flagship RB Leipzig last season. 

Sesko has now scored in six consecutive league games bringing his season’s tally to 13 goals in debut Bundesliga campaign. This is even more remarkable when you see that he has started only 16 games. 

With one game to go, he has already equalled the number of league goals scored by Haaland in his debut Bundesliga campaign. Elite teams across Europe were already tracking his progress, but his form and ability to consistently adapt to a higher level is sure to accelerate their pursuit in the summer. 

Benjamin Sesko Transfer Value - how much is he worth now? 

According to FootballTransfer's Player Valuation Model, Sesko has a current Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €31.6m. His excellent performances have seen his value almost doubled since he moved to Leipzig last summer. 

Arsenal are in the market for a striker, and Sesko’s agent was in attendance at Old Trafford for Manchester United's loss to Arsenal, fuelling speculation that a big move to the Premier League is on the cards. 

Die Roten Bullen are renowned for their player trading model and sold Szoboszlai, Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku for huge fees last summer. 

The Slovenian international reportedly has a €65m release clause, and it will take a similar fee to prise him away from east Germany. 

What does Benjamin Sesko bring to the table? 

Sesko’s 1.95 metre frame makes him appear like a big traditional target man, but his technique belies his size and makes him more of a modern version of a target man that can run in behind, take on opponents and link up with teammates. 

He tends to stay central when his team is in possession but will drift wide when out of possession so he can use his devastating pace to run into open space on the counter and get into the box. 

Sesko has played in a two-striker system at both Red Bull clubs, where he has been deployed mostly as the last man who runs the channels. This means that although he has a good passing range and link up play, this does not show up in the data. 

Like all top strikers, Sesko possesses great anticipation and instincts in the box.  

While his Expected Goals (xG) figure of 0.49 per 90 is not exceptional, it is important to note that he shares goalscoring opportunities with talented attackers such as Lois Openda, Yussuf Poulsen, and Xavi Simons within his team. 

In terms of his finishing, Sesko is an excellent ball-striker with both feet and is able to generate great power in shots with minimal backlift. His 52.3% shooting accuracy is amongst the best in the league for players in his position. 

The 20-year-old’s goals per 90 figure of 0.81 is almost twice his xG and highlights just how efficient he is at converting low xG chances into goals. 

Although he sometimes lacks composure in front of goal, this can be ironed out of his game as he develops into a more refined goalscorer. 

As is the Red Bull way, Sesko also contributes defensively and presses from the front with real intensity. His aerial win rate of 56.1% puts him in the top 7% of forwards in the German top flight and plays a big role in defending corners. 

The Leipzig number 30 is just past his teens, and still needs to grow into his large frame. Once he learns to use his body better, he will get even better at hold up play and be a more dangerous aerial presence in both boxes. 

For now, he needs to find the right environment to keep developing so he can reach his full potential as an elite goal-scorer and blossom into a 30-goal-a-season striker.

This article was provided by FootballTransfers