'I've played with MU star and LaLiga goal machine -Sesko is best I've seen'

Benjamin Sesko was hailed as "the best striker I've played with" by one of his experienced team-mates amid ongoing talk of a potential Premier League switch.

Last summer, the Slovenia international, 21, was pursued by Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, but ended up staying put at RB Leipzig after agreeing to extend his contract. But a move to England is still a major possibility, particularly with long-term admirers at the Emirates in the market for a new centre forward.

Since joining Leipzig from sister club Red Bull Salzburg in 2023, Sesko has scored 31 times in 67 games. But it isn't just his goal record that potential suitors ought to be swooning at, it's how highly he's rated at the Red Bull Arena.

Speaking to TNT Sports in December, long-serving Leipzig forward Yussuf Poulsen, who's largely played second fiddle to Sesko over the past 18 months, insisted the youngster was "the best I've played with". This is quite the compliment considering some of the forwards he's partnered over the years, including Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku, United's Rasmus Hojlund, Tottenham ace Timo Werner and La Liga goal machine Alexander Sorloth.

"If you look at his abilities, he has everything a top No. 9 needs," 86-cap Denmark international Poulsen said. "He's still young, he still needs to learn, not the technical things about being a striker but maybe more the finesse side.

"He has everything, strength shooting, technique, everything. I like working with him and I'm trying to get him there - he'll go on and score a lot of goals for us and some point go to the club he'll love to play for."

The Gunners are favourites to land Sesko and are plotting an approach in the summer, though a January move hasn't been completely ruled out according to The Telegraph. Reacting to speculation about Sesko moving to the Emirates Stadium, the player's agent Elvis Basanovic told Slovenian TV channel Arena Sport: "I think you should ask Mr. Arteta about that.

"But I think Sesko could suit many clubs because he has different football skills. He can play alone in attack, with two strikers, a little further back, he has height, speed, technical speed." When pushed specifically on whether Arsenal had made enquiries, Basanovic added: "I can't answer that question for you."

He also revealed that a future transfer will only be considered if the move benefits Sesko's development. It's understood that the striker rejected a switch to Arsenal in the summer because he feared he would be second-choice behind Kai Havertz up front.

"Benjamin Sesko is really shining, I think this is a phase of development. I think we have already shown in the past that we are sticking to the development path, that we are not looking at current form," Basanovic explained. "Our decision regarding the next step, the transfer, has never and will not stem from current form, but from who can offer Sesko the best platform for his development.

"We can see that our decision [to stay at Leipzig] was correct, six months later he is already a better striker than he was last season. What he lacks is experience. We must not forget that he is only 21 years old, so we did not want him to go to the Premier League in the summer. There were concrete options, but we consciously decided to stay in the Bundesliga to give him time to progress and develop into a better striker."

Sesko's contract runs until 2029 and does not contain a release like his previous deal did. This means prying him from Leipzig's hands might cost a hefty sum. When quizzed on how much it would take for the club to consider a sale, Basanovic said: "I don't think Leipzig would be satisfied with any compensation at the moment, Leipzig does not want to sell Benjamin Sesko because they really value him immensely."

Other than Sesko, Arsenal are also considering moves for Newcastle's Alexander Isak and Sporting CP hotshot Viktor Gyokeres. Both players are on fire at the moment, with Isak netting 14 goals in his last 13 Premier League games and Gyokeres on 32 goals in all competitions for the season already.