Why Benjamin Sesko rejected Man Utd as Arsenal close in on summer transfer

Benjamin Sesko admitted that he felt a switch to RB Leipzig was a better decision than joining Manchester United when he made his first move.

The young striker, who burst onto the scene with Red Bull Salzburg, had a decision to make when he left the Austrian outfit last summer and, despite some of Europe's biggest clubs circling, he opted to move to Leizpig. That is a move often undertaken given the shared ownership between the two clubs.

Sesko, who has continued to be impressive, is tipped for a big money this summer and is thought to favour a switch to Arsenal this summer. The 20-year-old has just hit 18 goals for the second successive year and wanted to move to the Bundesliga club, when United were also an option, because he felt their style was a better fit.

At the time he said on his move to Leizpig: “The thing is, I wasn't really involved in these kinds of conversations, but I think it was better to come here.” He also added: “It was very important for me to go to a place that plays a similar style of football. I already knew what I had to do and didn’t have to go through a whole learning process again."

Sesko's agent Elvis Basanovic has been to Arsenal matches this season and Sesko - who turns 21 on Friday - would help aid their forward issues. Kai Havertz has played as a false 9 but the Gunners are expected to pursue a prolific forward during the summer.

Leipzig are prepared to sell this summer if they can broker the right deal even though he has only been with them for the past year. The German club's model has often seen them move on their top stars for a huge profit - and Sesko could be the latest player to move on.

Arsenal, if they cannot secure a deal for Sesko, have other players they will pursue. On their shortlist are also the likes of Ajax star Brian Brobbey and Evan Ferguson at Brighton. They've opted against going after Ivan Toney or Newcastle's Alexander Isak.

United last summer, when it became clear they'd be going after a new No 9, ended up landing Rasmus Hojlund in a hefty deal from Atalanta. Harry Kane was linked but the club opted against battling financially with Bayern Munich and turned their attention to the young Dane.

The club expected Hojlund would need time to get up to speed. He took months before he scored his first league goal and was left on the bench for the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City at Wembley.