Arsenal face paying a higher fee for Benjamin Sesko this summer as his release clause with RB Leipzig has increased ahead of the summer transfer window.
Sesko is one of Arsenal’s top striker targets ahead of the summer window alongside Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres.
However, Mikel Arteta’s side face strong competition with Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea also monitoring the 21-year-old’s progress in the Bundesliga.
Sesko, who has scored 13 goals in the Bundesliga this season, is available this summer due to a variable clause in his deal with RB Leipzig which is linked with his appearances, goals and assists for the German club.
According to Sky Germany, the clause started at £49.5 million (€60m) but it is now in excess of £66m (€80m) ahead of the summer window.
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Sesko, meanwhile, admits his future is ‘open’ once his second season with RB Leipzig is over.
‘Right now, I’m 100 per cent focused on RB Leipzig,’ the striker told Sky Germany on Tuesday.
‘Then we’ll see what happens. It’s open, anything can happen.’
Speaking earlier this year, former Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, who is now working in an advisory role for the Red Bull network, said that Sesko has ‘incredible potential’.
‘My plans with him are that he scores more goals,’ Klopp said.
‘He’s a good player. I’ve actually known him for a while, I knew him already when he was at Salzburg.
‘I think we played a friendly game here when he was very, very young. I was really impressed, I thought, “Where do they get all these players?”, ridiculous.
‘I have no plans with him, just to make that clear. Don’t get it wrong, I will not show up in training and tell them what to do.
‘Our plan, and I don’t have to ask Marco Rose what his plan is with him [Sesko], I know it… he wants to help him score as many goals as possible.
‘He has space for improvement, space for development, incredible skillset, incredible potential so I’m happy that we have him.’
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