Why ‘sparky’ Benjamin Sesko has long been touted to reach the top of the game… but Erling Haaland comparisons are misplaced despite their similar journeys

As someone who can execute a slam dunk as easily as a close-range header, it is no surprise Benjamin Sesko has always reached for the stars.

A talented basketball player who idolises fellow Slovenian and NBA star Luka Doncic, the 6ft 5ins Sesko set his sights on taking Erling Haaland’s No 9 shirt from the moment he joined Red Bull Salzburg in 2019. Next season, Sesko may be trying to beat the Manchester City forward to the Premier League golden boot.

Manchester United and Newcastle believe Sesko, who plays for RB Leipzig, can give them something different. United need a top-class No 9; Newcastle have one, but may be about the lose Alexander Isak to Liverpool. For about £75million, Sesko will have little margin of error.

Though he is still only 22, Sesko has been on the radar of the Premier League’s top clubs for at least four years. Indeed, Salzburg had some fun on social media at the expense of United in 2022 on learning of their interest in Sesko, who was then 19. ‘We now want €1billion, Bruno Fernandes and (mascot) Fred the Red for Sesko,’ they wrote that summer.

Oliver Durr Dehnhardt, head of football strategy at scouting platform Eyeball, has followed Sesko since he was playing in the youth ranks at NK Domzale in his homeland. Dehnhardt believes Sesko has the raw material to succeed in the Premier League but needs to add sophistication to his evident gifts.

‘Sesko has the potential to become one of the best and most complete strikers in the game,’ Dehnhardt tells Mail Sport. ‘He is tall, physically dominant and excellent in the air. For his size, he shows great acceleration and an impressive top speed. He can finish powerfully with either foot.

‘That makes him a valuable asset for teams who attack in transition – similar to Haaland when he was at Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.

‘Though he has a decent technical package, I believe he needs to improve his link-up play. To reach the next level, he needs more balance to his game.

‘I would be interested to see how he would adapt to playing in a possession-based team, where space in attack is tighter. He needs to learn to work across the front line and find space in different pockets. I think it’s quite similar to the transition Haaland needed to make when he moved from Dortmund to Manchester City.’

Though he does not turn 23 until next May, there are few doubts about Sesko’s ability to switch countries. He has done so already twice in his short career and will be aided by his excellent level of English.

‘If developed right, he can become one of the best strikers in the world over the next decade, if not the best,’ adds Markus Fjortoft, a sports consultant and host of the Fussball Channel, a Bundesliga show. ‘He is natural goalscorer, physical and athletic but with plenty of room for improvement.

‘He is not the finished article and still needs to work on his finishing and decision-making.’

Coaches who despair at the amount of time modern players spend on their devices would find Sesko refreshing. In the hours before matches, Sesko switches off his phone as he believes excessive screen time makes him tired. He prefers to read books instead – factual rather than fiction.

A sparky character who wears his heart on his sleeve, Sesko is a popular member of the Leipzig squad and his ferocious table-tennis duels with Xavi Simons are the stuff of dressing-room legend. 

When in his apartment, Sesko burns scented candles to try to help him relax though this cannot always douse his emotional streak. 

He was crying on the pitch towards the end of Slovenia’s game against Kazakhstan in November 2023, which sealed their place at Euro 2024, and has clashed with club officials.

‘My toughest moment came when I was playing at Salzburg,’ Sesko recalled last season. I should have been the first-choice striker there, and I voiced my opinion about something that didn’t go down well. I was young, of course.

‘Then all of a sudden I was watching from the stands. I had to fight my way back to even be in the squad and then to get in the first XI. You could say it was the worst moment, but it made me much tougher and taught me how to act in such situations. It was a good lesson.’

Sesko’s path – Red Bull Salzburg to the Bundesliga – has drawn comparisons with Haaland but he has some way to travel to be as prolific as the Norwegian. 

He scored 13 times in 33 league games last term, 14 in 31 the year before. Yet whereas Haaland sometimes struggles in tandem with another forward, Sesko has dovetailed impressively with Belgian star Lois Openda at Leipzig.

The ultra-physical, ultra-athletic Premier League will certainly be a test of Sesko’s strength and endurance. ‘He is strong, good in the air and has an impressive eye for goal but he can go missing in games,’ says Berlin-based Bundesliga expert Mark Meadows. ‘That was certainly a factor in Leipzig failing to qualify for Europe for the first time as a Bundesliga club.

‘Even though he has a reputation for having a short fuse, his only yellow cards this season came in the same match, when they lost 2-1 at Stuttgart in January.’ After collecting a league-high six red cards in 2024-25, his suitors will certainly hope they can teach Sesko, who idolises Sweden great Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to keep calm on the pitch.

‘He’s still my favourite player,’ Sesko has said. ‘The magic he could do, at his size, was unbelievable to watch. I like his character too – though it’s not the same as mine.’

Sesko’s preferred shirt number is 30, which he has worn since his Salzburg days.

Sesko is as famous online for his celebration as for his goal – a jump for joy that would certainly impress his idol Doncic. ‘People can see how high I can jump,’ Sesko admits. ‘Sometimes it’s higher or lower, depending on how much I’ve run before or if I’m tired or not, but I can jump really high. It feels amazing. United and Newcastle fans hope Sesko is the main to raise the bar.