Benjamin Sesko says he was ‘happy’ to have had transfer interest in him from the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.
The striker, currently starring for Slovenia at Euro 2024, had emerged as a top summer target for several clubs including London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea as well as Manchester United.
But in a surprising move, Sesko decided to pen a new contract with RB Leipzig, though it does contain a gentleman’s agreement over a future potential transfer.
This early move would perhaps suggest that the 21-year-old didn’t want the distraction of a transfer saga while he was in Germany representing his country.
But Sesko has now admitted that if anything he thrives off the external chatter, telling The Sun: ‘To be honest, with the pressure, I put it on the bright side.
‘It’s a good kind of pressure. If you have the opportunity where people can talk about you, doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, there’s something about you and it means I have done something good in the past and people are talking about it.
‘I always put it on the bright side and I am happy to be a part of this.
‘It’s definitely a good chance for me to play in this type of tournament. I’m really proud of myself to be a part of the team and be here and for the experience and the self-growth.
‘It’s really important for me and for my career in general. It’s been an amazing time and I’m looking forward to more of this.’
Sesko scored 18 goals in 42 appearances for Leipzig and has 11 in 30 caps for Slovenia.
He’s yet to find the back of the net at Euro 2024 but his side have done well to earn draws against Denmark and Serbia, but they’ll very likely need a result when they play England on Tuesday in order to reach the knockouts.
The Three Lions have not been playing well but it should still be a very tough task for Slovenia, but one that Sesko is relishing.
‘Yeah we definitely can [catch England cold]. They know that we have played two great games,’ he added.
‘They’re not at their best. They are still doing great of course, but now is the best opportunity to play against them and show them the best we can do. I am sure we are going to shine.’
