{"id":17180,"date":"2025-07-17T10:46:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T10:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/ekitike-isak-sesko-mbuemo-gyokeres-the-race-for-a-striker-is-hotting-up\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T10:46:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T10:46:25","slug":"ekitike-isak-sesko-mbuemo-gyokeres-the-race-for-a-striker-is-hotting-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/ekitike-isak-sesko-mbuemo-gyokeres-the-race-for-a-striker-is-hotting-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Ekitike, Isak, Sesko, Mbuemo, Gyokeres: The race for a striker is hotting up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig)<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The Slovenian 22-year-old looked as though he could have been heading to Arsenal this summer but, with Gyokeres now the Gunners&#8217; priority, that move is off the table.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He has also been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">If they sign Mbeumo, Manchester United would need to sell to fund a potential move for a striker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sesko signed a five-year contract this time last season and it has been reported Leipzig would want up to \u00a385m for him. Don&#8217;t rule out a move from one of Europe&#8217;s top clubs later in the window.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Arsenal made a late bid for England striker Ollie Watkins in the final few days of the winter transfer window, with Aston Villa refusing the reported \u00a340m offer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A striker a number of clubs are understood to be keeping an eye on, with both Liverpool and Manchester United known to be admirers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Villa would not be keen to sell the 29-year-old, but could a late substantial bid twist their arm?<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace)<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Another striker who has been linked with a move away this summer, but Crystal Palace are determined to keep hold of him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Numerous clubs have shown an interest in the Frenchman but the Eagles are hoping he will sign a new long-term deal, with his current contract expiring in 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The 28-year-old was a standout performer in Oliver Glasner&#8217;s side last season, scoring 17 goals in all competitions as Palace won the FA Cup &#8211; their first major trophy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Jackson was Chelsea&#8217;s first-choice striker last season but the arrival of Joao Pedro and Delap does raise a few questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The 24-year-old Senegal international scored 10 Premier League goals in 2024-25 and would likely have significant interest from elsewhere if he was made available.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A free agent after his Everton deal expired this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Newcastle and Manchester United have been linked with the 28-year-old England forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/football\/articles\/c4g8y491zwyo\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig) The Slovenian 22-year-old looked as though he could have been heading to Arsenal this summer but, with Gyokeres now the Gunners&#8217; priority, that move is off the table. He has also been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. If they sign Mbeumo, Manchester United would need to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-european-football","category-world-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17180"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17182,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17180\/revisions\/17182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}