Barcelona have identified Benjamin Sesko as an alternative to Erling Haaland with the RB Leipzig striker on their radar after he turned down Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea over the summer.
- Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
HITC reported earlier this week that Arsenal and London rivals Chelsea had both sent scouts to watch Viktor Gyokeres during Sporting Lisbon’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Lille on Tuesday.
Opening the scoring with a typically laser-guided finish on the turn, Gyokeres now has a stunning 52 goals in 57 games since moving to Portugal from Coventry City.
Thus, further justifying the £84 million release clause in his contract.
Of course, had Arsenal or Chelsea managed to secure the services of another extremely-talented young centre-forward during the summer just gone – Benjamin Sesko – Sporting boss Ruben Amorim would be able to sleep a little easier amid the now-growing fears over Gyokeres’ future.
Arsenal and Chelsea were snubbed by Benjamin Sesko
Tall, quick, blessed with fearsome running power and emphatic finishing, Sesko is a number nine in the same mould as Gyokeres. Or, if you like, one Erling Haaland.
HITC can now confirm that, while Manchester City’s irrepressible Norwegian remains Barcelona’s number one target to replace 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski in 2025, the La Liga challengers are not foolish enough to place all their eggs in the Haaland basket.
There are no guarantees that Haaland will look to leave the Etihad any time soon.
HITC understands that he is willing to sign a new contract, albeit only if City agree to keep that £150 million-or-so release clause in place. Thus, allowing the former Borussia Dortmund talisman to control his own destiny, to some extent.
Sesko, like Haaland, has taken his game to an all-new level in the German Bundesliga.
The explosive Slovenia international hit the target 18 times last season. He took his tally to two for 2024/25 in midweek, opening the scoring away at Atletico Madrid in Thursday’s Champions League opener.
Barcelona have now added Sesko to Haaland on their list of potential Lewandowski successors. They watched the Leipzig hitman in Madrid too, Sesko’s opener rendered moot as Atletico turned the game around thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann and Jose Maria Gimenez.
Barcelona identify Erling Haaland alternative
This comes after Sesko turned down the chance to move to the Premier League over the summer.
Sesko, who was labelled the second-coming of Haaland when following in his footsteps at Red Bull Salzburg, even installed Arsenal as his preferred destination back in May. He had a £55 million release clause in his contract at the time.
But, after doing much thinking, Sesko opted to stay put and sign a new deal with RB Leipzig.
Of course, Arsenal and Chelsea could still return for him in 2025. Both clubs remain in the market for a number nine, as emphasised by that Lisbon scouting mission on Tuesday evening.
“He is a big lad, powerful as well, and he can half dribble. For someone who is 6ft 5in, he runs with the ball unbelievably,” former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino told talkSPORT in the build up to this summer’s European Championships.
“He gets linked to Haaland but, if you watch him play, he dribbles like Ryan Giggs! He will run at people and he will literally go around them. That’s the extraordinary thing he has got. I have not seen a 6ft 5in player play like him.
“You know when you first saw Usain Bolt and you used to think; ‘6ft 5in, and he is a 100-meter runner? How does that work? He shouldn’t be that big’.
“(Sesko) is a bit like that in football. He shouldn’t be doing some of the things he is doing in games because he is eye-catching.
“Clubs are fighting for him because there is something unique about him as a player.”
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