Manchester United ended their hunt for a striker by signing Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in the summer.
They agreed a deal worth £73.6 million to sign Sesko, banking on his sky-high potential.
Viktor Gyokeres, who was linked with a move to Old Trafford, completed his switch to Arsenal for a fee of £64 million.
His agent has claimed that the Red Devils agreed a fee with Sporting CP behind their backs.
However, Gyokeres was determined to seal a move to the Emirates as he wanted to play in UEFA Champions League.
It is no secret that Sesko was not United’s first choice in the summer.
Liam Delap was their priority target but he opted to move to Chelsea.
Once United realised Gyokeres’ preference, they quickly shifted their focus to Sesko.
Benjamin Sesko is a better long-term bet
Comparing Sesko and Gyokeres is more complicated than it first appears.
At 27, Gyokeres is in his prime. He enjoyed a sensational spell with the Portuguese giants, netting 97 goals in just 102 games.
Across his senior career, the Sweden international has an impressive 177 goals in 343 senior appearances.
He struggled at Brighton & Hove Albion in his early years but impressed in his two-year spell with Coventry City in the Championship before exploding in Portugal.
The upward trend is very clear to see. Gyokeres has worked hard in his career and deserves all the recognition he got at Sporting.
United would have been delighted to have him as a ready-made solution to their number nine problems.
A reunion between Ruben Amorim and Gyokeres would have also helped the former, who has won only 19 of his 50 games at Old Trafford.
United ended up recruiting Sesko, a 22-year-old striker with immense untapped potential.
The Slovenian has netted 92 goals in 218 senior games.
Gyokeres averages 0.5 goals per game, while Sesko is close behind on 0.4.
One should also consider the gap in quality between the Portuguese and German top flights.
Sesko has yet to prove his worth, unlike Gyokeres, but he seems to have a higher ceiling than the Arsenal striker.
Signing the former RB Leipzig star also makes financial sense.
In a probable scenario where both strikers fail to meet expectations, Sesko is likely to command a higher resale value as he is five years younger.
Many fear Sesko may go down the path of Rasmus Hojlund, who was also considered a huge prospect before his move to Manchester.
However, shining at Old Trafford requires not only talent but also mental toughness.
Sesko is a towering centre-forward with quick acceleration, good dribbling ability and a knack of firing long-range strikes.
He possesses more ways to score a goal than Hojlund or Gyokeres, who primarily rely on running in spaces behind the defence lines.
In hindsight, signing Sesko looks like a better deal but the responsibility will be on the youngster and the United coaches to keep his development on track.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
