I have a feeling in the back of my head that the bust factor is much higher for Sesko than it is for Ekitike. It's probably due to personal bias against taller forwards who have stiffer movements and players who don't seem to have the "dog" in them. I am in love with Sesko's ball striking ability but I'm worried that he might be closer to someone like Scamacca than someone like Haaland and that we would be looking for another striker sooner rather than later. I have been bullish on him but candidly, hoped he would be more of a main man this year for Leipzig as opposed to continuing to look like a work in progress. That being said, he's on pace to improve on his production numbers from last year so it's really tough to tell how he would translate.

Ekitike just looks so much more involved game to game but I'm wary of the Frankfurt striker machine. I think it will be very interesting to see how both players finish the season and I hope we are keeping a completely open mind despite having done a lot of legwork on Sesko over the last 12 months.

  • Qwiss

  • Post #101

@Tam know anything about Scottish defender Callan Hamill, seems he just agreed to join us when he's 16. Is he a big deal in Scotland? Played much SPL?

  • Tam replied to this.

    • Tam

    • Post #102

    Qwiss hadn’t heard of him. One of the guys I’ve just played football with is the St Johnstone fan as well so I could’ve asked him if I’d known.

    Seems like he’s been training or trialing with us for a while though. Had a quick read of a forum but most mentions of him are about expecting him to leave. I don’t think he's been anywhere near the first team, seems like he’s spent more time with us than them in recent months.

      The comparison doesn’t account for team effects, but this a substantial difference for strikers at a similar age.

        No point comparing Sesko and Ekitike because we're getting Nunez.

          lorddulaarsenal yup. If Alabe can invite Isak over for BBQ, he won’t need to do another deal ever again in his life.

            • Qwiss

            • Post #109

            TambourineMan has the whiff of Liverpool trying to replace Salah on it.

              • Panda

              • Post #110

              TambourineMan Never going to happen but I'd love us to sign him as our creative attacking midfielder along with a promising CF, starter level LW and Zubimendi. That would be a perfect summer in my book.

              Think he will end up at Chelsea/Spurs/Liverpool.

                  Claudius "ELO adjusted" 🤔 sounds like that's just been a substantial multiplier to Ekiteke's stats across the board? That can be misleading for sure.

                      RocktheCasbah I mean it might be slightly more confidence-boosting than a "Travelling Wilburys adjusted" player ratings system ...

                        Many complain that we don't get the young developing players often enough. I think this is a guy at the right stage. He's not yet established but he has displayed enough to suggest that his floor will be okay but there is scope for incredible upside.
                        I have a longer list of attacking talents, in this order. Number 1 and 2 would be highly dependent on things going wrong for their respective clubs.

                        Primary targets

                        1. Isak
                        2. Rodrygo (7 goals and 5 assists in 2025)
                        3. Ekitike
                        4. Sesko
                        5. Williams
                        6. Barcola

                        Fall backs

                        1. Cunha
                        2. Martinez
                        3. Thuram
                        4. Watkins
                        5. Osimhen
                        6. Samu Aghehowa
                        7. Gyokeres

                          Claudius not sure if this necessarily tracks. Saw a similar story about Balogun back in the day, claiming that his early career stats/ trajectory put him in line to be the next Harry Kane...

                            Also, speaking of Rodrygo, the most talented (and one of the "insane") player at Real Madrid, the guy has never cracked 20 goal + assists contributions in the Spanish league his whole career. And somehow he's a galactico? I think this season is likely to end up as his most productive, and even at that his numbers are not popping or making me look sideways with envy. He's a decent player but I'd be pretty disappointed if we went out and spent real money on the likes of him. He's no Benzema.

                              flobaba

                              I am gonna disagree with you on this one. For me, he would be a clear and massive upgrade on someone like Martinelli. I would spend a good amount of money on him if we could realistically get him, but it will never happen. His numbers may not be eye popping, but watching him play shows me that he is a really really good player.