Arsenal Transfer News While the price of Benjamin Sesko changes over time with a summer exit almost – but at what costs?
When Arsenal, and most of the rest of the Chasing European Pack, Benjamin Sesko not signed last summer, it was always a serious blow. With £ 55 million through his release clause at RB Leipzig, it was unlikely that the then 22-year-old would become cheaper.
Sesko came behind the goals in seven consecutive Bundesliga matches and 11 in 15 (plus two assists), the early conversation of the city before Euro 2024. His decision to refuse Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United (among other things) (among others) for another year in Germany.
Sesko started strongly in a Leipzig team that was unbeaten for the first eight league games. He only scored two at the time, but was firmly the starting striker, where he had not been 12 months earlier.
Another impressive winter run brought him to eight goals at the end of January and he then kept shooting in a considerable rate by the end, even when things really fell for the team. Sesko finished with 13 goals and five assists, including four in the Champions League and another four in the German cup.
He may have scored fewer goals from more minutes (in particular his start went from 17 to 30 and minutes from 1500 to almost 2,500) but improved the underlying statistics. He set up a higher expected goals (XG), which had been a point of worries for some people watching.
Sesko has received early criticism because he is a bad finisher, but a scorer of beautiful goals. 27 Bundesliga objectives of 17.6XG is a huge over performance that was worried about how he would translate that into another competition, especially in England.
As a young player, his overall output did not cause teams to be interested in buying him. Arsenal, who is still looking for a striker, after two years of increasingly to trust Kai Havertz to wear the load in the front, are the most important vaulters.
Unlike Chelsea and United, they have returned with the full ambition to sign Sesko this summer. Whether the new sports director Andrea Berta Sesko sees as the ideal fit can still be seen, but he is certainly in the conversation.
If Arsenal continues to pursue a deal, it is expected to cost more than £ 70 million. Reports have suggested that it could be a maximum of £ 92.5 million.
How does this count come with the estimated market of Sesko? Well, things move in that direction, even when they haven't reached it yet.
According to Cies Football Observatory, a fair price for Sesko is currently around £ 76 million to £ 99 million. That would be a huge edition for a player who comes from a competition of often blown -up figures, but also reflects what the landscape looks like.
Sesko was seen as being this £ 55 million release clause last summer, despite the relatively small sample size in a top competition. Teams would have paid to buy him at that figure, but now do not have such a way.
The question is, what should the limit be? Leipzig will be without European football next season and Sesko has Champions League experience. They also know that Arsenal is desperate to sign a striker and has long -term interest in Sesko.
Arsenal has the financial capacity to go great on the Slovenian. However, transfer market's crowd-sourced rating tracker brings its value closer to £ 65 million.
That is still £ 15 million higher than at the end of May 2024, before he wrote a contract extension at Leipzig. The Sesko route also remains a steep line.
His value has more than doubled since he had moved from RB Salzburg in Austria in Austria almost two years ago. With goals everywhere he has played so far in his senior career, Sesko would set expectations to him to become the answer to the needs of Mikel Arteta, but for a young player there is also an adjustment period.
He has rawness and areas that will be ironed over time. Simply to the Premier League will also see its shares rise.
Sesko may be too expensive, but it is worthwhile to acknowledge that someone's price is ultimately what someone else will pay. If Arsenal is willing to stretch to more than £ 75 million for Sesko, then that will be his value, whether it is correct of his skills or not.