Manchester United and Newcastle United are neck and neck in pursuit of RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko.
The two Premier League clubs have endured their fair share of setbacks this summer, with both missing out on Liam Delap and Hugo Ekitike to Chelsea and Liverpool, respectively.
Now, with suitable centre-forwards few and far between on the market, both sides have been left vying over the Slovenian international.
United, Newcastle and Sesko: The state of play
It was confirmed this morning that United and Newcastle had initiated talks with Sesko and were ‘presenting their projects’ to the player. Then, once he decides whether he wants to join either of the teams and a verbal agreement is reached, the side will submit a formal bid to Leipzig.
In the meantime, Ben Jacobs has further confirmed this afternoon that Newcastle have informed the Bundesliga outfit that ‘they are prepared to pay over £60 million’.
This’ll come as music to Leipzig’s ears, as it was differing financial valuations that led to Arsenal ending their pursuit and going all-out for Viktor Gyokeres instead.
How much will it take to sign Sesko this summer?
Despite the 22-year-old having a £70m release clause included in his current terms, it was recently claimed by German football expert Christian Falk that a fee of £60m would indeed be enough to prise Sesko from Leipzig this summer.
That being said, if the Magpies are willing to fork out the sum upfront, it’ll almost certainly price United out of a move, given they’ve yet to sanction any permanent outgoings and have welcomed both Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to Old Trafford.
Sesko has notched 39 goals and contributed a further eight assists in 87 appearances for Leipzig over the last two seasons.
