Revealed: What Man Utd will have to pay to sign Benjamin Sesko
FT Desk
- Updated: 30 Jul 2022 10:06 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United are still in the market for a striker in case Cristiano Ronaldo leaves. What will they have to pay Red Bull Salzburg for Benjamin Sesko?
Ronaldo has missed most of pre-season with Manchester United, but announced recently that he would return against Rayo Vallecano this weekend, posting in Portuguese on his Instagram account that: "Sunday, the king plays."
But United could yet recruit another attacker. Ronaldo is 37 after all, and the suspicion remains that he would rather play Champions League football this coming season.
Benjamin Sesko, stop it.
Leaving Liverpool for dead. No wonder Man Utd want him 🤩pic.twitter.com/kQ2XLc1Hd3
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 28, 2022
Anthony Martial has performed well in his absence, scoring three goals and assisting one more against Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace in Thailand and Australia, but he also has some convincing still to do having spent the second half of last season on loan with Sevilla.
According to the Daily Mail, Sesko is a primary target for United - as well as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle, but he won't come cheap, with Salzburg reluctant to sell.
"Manchester United met Benjamin Sesko's agent last Wednesday but Red Bull Salzburg don't want to sell this window unless they get offer over £55 million [€65m]," they write.
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United could certainly afford the 19-year-old Slovenia international, and they have already spent more than €70m on acquiring defenders Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia from Ajax and Feyenoord respectively.
How good is Sesko?
Sesko is a strapping 6'4" striker who combines steel and silk, his touch befitting of a player with a much lower centre of gravity.
He contributed 11 goals and seven assists in 37 games in all competitions for Salzburg last season as they completed the domestic double, and the club hope he can follow in the foot-steps of Erling Haaland, who first emerged as a world-class talent in Austria.
Sesko was on target as Salzburg beat Liverpool 1-0 in pre-season, at one point in the game dropping Jurgen Klopp's jaw with sharp control in the middle of the pitch before wriggling free of two markers.
