Chelsea 'willing to pay €100m' for Bundesliga starlet

Stuart Telford

1 Oct 2023 11:41 BST
3 min read

Mauricio Pochettino and the Chelsea badge on a blue abstract background — © ProShots

Chelsea are set to beat Real Madrid to the signing of RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko in January, according to reports in Spain.

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Chelsea and Real are both in the market for a new No.9. Nicolas Jackson has only scored two goals in eight games for the former since his summer switch from Villarreal, while Jude Bellingham may have hit seven in eight for the latter, but he is a midfielder by trade.

Real lost Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad this summer, with Palmeiras prodigy Endrick set to sign next year. Joselu was signed on loan from Espanyol as an interim solution.

READ: Chelsea: Priority striker target emerges for Pochettino in three-man shortlist

But there is no guarantee Endrick will be ready at 18, and Madrid have cast their net further afield, with Victor Osimhen and Sesko on their shortlist if Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe prove out of reach.

Benjamin Sesko, stop it.

Leaving Liverpool for dead. No wonder Man Utd want him 🤩pic.twitter.com/kQ2XLc1Hd3
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 28, 2022

Chelsea ahead of Real for Sesko

"[Pochettino] is getting desperate due to his side's lack of goals, and on the list of possible signings are two strikers who have been linked with Real Madrid: Sesko and Osimhen," reports Defensa Central's Hugo Arenas.

"Indeed, Chelsea are willing to pay up to €100m for their next No.9 in January."

REAL: Benjamin Sesko reveals why he ditched Man Utd move

A €100m outlay might be out of reach for Real either way, but neither club are likely to get Osimhen for that money, even if Napoli's star recently had a run-in with the club over an in-house social media post.

It might tease Sesko from Leipzig, however. The Red Bull-backed club paid sister club Salzburg €24m for his services in July, but he finds himself behind Lois Openda and Yussuf Poulsen in the pecking order of strikers there despite his five goals from just 274 minutes of football.

Pochettino has been handed a bigger role in Chelsea's transfer business despite the Blues' stuttering start to the season, and they are likely to back him in Sesko's pursuit in January.