Forget Newcastle's Alexander Isak - Arsenal can sign bargain £55m alternative striker instead

It’s certainly one way of dissuading your Premier League rivals from luring away one of your most influential and indispensable talents. If reports are to be believed, Newcastle United will demand somewhere in the region of £200 million before they consider selling striker Alexander Isak this summer. They might as well have had the words ‘Hand Off!’ tattooed on his forehead.

News of Isak’s exorbitant price tag will come as a kick in the teeth to Arsenal in particular, with widespread suggestions that the Gunners have been keeping close tabs on the Swede for quite a while now. Of course, he is by no means the only name on Mikel Arteta’s radar, but he may well prove to be the most expensive, and for that reason, you would now imagine that the Spaniard and his transfer chiefs will seek more affordable alternative elsewhere.

To that end, Arsenal could certainly do worse than casting a beady eye over Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian striker has been in fine form this season, scoring 14 times in 31 Bundesliga outings for RB Leipzig, and continues to stake his claim as one of the most exciting young attacking talents in European football. He would also be available for around £55 million this summer, supposedly; meaning that he is on the market for almost four times less than Isak.

At 20, Sesko is as much a case study in boundless potential as he is a finished article already. Having taken the familiar senior career path from Red Bull Salzburg to current employers Leipzig, the centre forward, tall and physically imposing as he is, has impressed immensely during his debut campaign in Germany. Drawing frequent comparisons to Manchester City juggernaut Erling Haaland, Sesko, like the Norwegian, is deceptively pacy, dominant in the air, technically gifted with both feet, and, perhaps most notably of all, is a ferocious instinctive finisher.

The forward does not exactly shy away from the parallels either. Speaking about Haaland previously, he said: "Such comparisons motivate me and give me energy. They do not represent pressure. I will listen and learn so I can be even better than he is. My teammates at the club tell me that Haaland and I are very similar, especially in terms of speed. Most of them even tell me that I’m better than him!"

That last point might be pushing things a little, but even if he doesn’t quite yet measure up to Haaland’s magnificence (bluntly, who does?) there is no denying that the emerging talent has the potential and the pedigree to become a truly special player. Aside from his club exploits, he already has 11 goals in 28 caps at senior international level, and the growing feeling on the continent is that he will secure himself a high profile move sooner rather than later.

Given their obvious need for a striker, as well as Sesko’s relatively sensible price tag, Arsenal should absolutely be in the race to become his next destination this summer. If nothing else, it has to be better than spending £200 million on Alexander Isak.