SESKO AND HIS GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT

RB LEIPZIG STRIKER KEEPS DOOR OPEN FOR NEXT SUMMER

How are you doing, champ?

Are you feeling okay?

Still down about Sesko?

I didn’t think so.

Life goes on.

There are plenty more strikers in the season. Yeah, I agree, too raw, not at the level. Took the ‘lite beer’ move and stayed in Germany.

David Ornstein and the crew over at The Athletic said development was more important at this stage of his career. The player took less money but more minutes. His new deal doesn’t have a release clause; they have a gentleman’s agreement. You might wonder why a player would do that after Harry Kane’s brother did something similar with his brother's Spurs deal, the striker only escaping to greater riches until the tail-end of his career.

Red Bull Leipzig is a different club. This sort of move is part of their strategy. Their business model for elite kids is:

‘Trust us with your career, we’ll shuffle you through our system. We have dynamic young coaches who pride themselves on their developmental abilities. At every stage of your career, there’s a place for you until the next move is inevitable.’

Players are then allowed to move for a figure that is fair to the player. Moving for £140m leaves little room for the talent to earn big money and narrows the clubs they can go for. The exit fee he’s agreed will be fair to the player. If it’s not, then Leipzig tells all the elite kids in their pipeline - when it comes down to it, we’ll screw you (financially).

Maybe Arsenal goes back in for him next year. Maybe they don’t. But whatever happens, Sesko is a made striker.

There was a double dose of disappointment yesterday - Douglas Luiz is heading to Juventus to help Villa with their FFP woes. I have no idea how this deal is structured, but I do know they’ve taken Weston McKennie in the other direction, which feels like a regression.