Arsenal are pressing ahead with a deal to sign Benjamin Sesko, football.london understands. Vital talks took place at Arsenal last week as Andrea Berta, Mikel Arteta and the club hierarchy met after the conclusion of the season.
There are several areas where the club would like to reinforce but the centre-forward position is considered a priority. Alexander Isak is thought to be the club’s dream option but with Newcastle qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, any move quickly became impossible.
The two names which have been thoroughly considered are Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko. Both have been scouted thoroughly by the club for well over a year and both players were even considered as possible additions before the summer of 2024, football.london has been told, but Sesko then and clearly now has always been the front runner.
The arrival of Berta as sporting director certainly brought with it the question of whether Gyokeres should be considered more seriously. However, there appears to be a unanimous decision now that the Slovenian international is the correct choice.
The decision will come from a host of reasons and factors. Many that put Sesko above Gyokeres in the club’s thinking come down to his stylistic traits, which are believed to match closer to how Arteta works with his side.
Gyokeres’ struggles aerially have shown during his time in Portugal, speaking of which, Sesko already performing to a very good level in one of Europe’s top five leagues at the age of 22 and below has also been a critical factor in deciding who to pursue most seriously first. Five years younger than Gyokeres, the level of investment in both players is also seen as more sensible with the younger of the pair.
If Gyokeres was unable to translate his numbers from Portugal, something most have tried and failed to do over the years, then at 27 his value would have fallen considerably quicker. The risk assessment of the pair landed heavily in favour of Sesko.
Now the clubs and the player need to come to an agreement over the move. A year ago, ironically, Sesko would have cost less than Gyokeres as both club’s were demanding release clauses which were very far apart – €100million in the case of the Swede and just over half of that for the Leipzig striker.
Leipzig, having agreed a new deal with Sesko last summer, want a higher fee to let Sesko leave who has an agreement with his club that an exit will be sanctioned if the asking price is met. The figures would make Sesko the most expensive striker in the club’s history, eclipsing that of the £60million the club paid Borussia Dortmund for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang more than seven years ago.
A transfer from Germany whose goals did translate into the Premier League on that occasion. Whoever it was to be signed was always going to have massive expectation but the burden will be shared as Arteta remains a massive fan of Kai Havertz who will be expected to play plenty of games next season no matter what signings are made.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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