Benjamin Sesko contract twist puts Arsenal, Chelsea & Man Utd on alert | OneFootball

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United will have to pay a higher fee to land RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko this summer, a report has revealed, and may not even get the chance to sign the 20-year-old at all.

Heading into a summer which could see strikers like Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres command fees around the £100m mark, a number of teams had turned to Sesko as a cheaper alternative as his contract included a release clause worth €50m (£42m).

However, Sky in Germany now reveal that Sesko has triggered some performance-related clauses in his contract which has removed that €50m exit sum and replaced it with a new release clause worth €65m (£56m).

The jump comes after Sesko ended his debut year in the Bundesliga with 14 goals, 11 of which came in 2024 after the Slovenia international finally forced his way into the starting lineup on a regular basis.

Sesko scored in each of Leipzig's last seven games and contributed either a goal or an assist in every game he started in the second half of the campaign.

It is noted that Sesko's release clause could have risen as high as €75m (£64m), but the striker did not meet the thresholds for that final rise.

Sesko's price tag has risen / Sebastian Widmann/GettyImages

RB Leipzig are keen to avoid losing Sesko for any fee and Fabrizio Romano notes a new contract has been offered to the 20-year-old, who they want to keep for a further 12 months before cashing in for a huge sum.

The decision will be left to Sesko, who was understood to have been open to a change of scenery earlier this year. Whether his stance has changed now the season has come to a close remains to be seen.

Further complicating any pursuit of Sesko is interest from Saudi Arabia. As first revealed by Slovenian outlet Nogomania and later backed up by a number of prominent outlets, Al Hilal and Al Ahli are both keen to land the youngster's signature.

An annual salary of €30m (£26m) has been offered to Sesko, although he is understood to have ruled out a move to the Middle East in favour of continuing to build his career in Europe.