Newcastle United transfer news: The Newcastle United, Manchester United and Benjamin Sesko transfer saga looks like finally coming to an end.
Benjamin Sesko has reportedly picked where he wants to play his football next season after being the subject of mammoth transfer bids from both Newcastle United and Manchester United this summer. The Magpies submitted their first bid for Sesko on Saturday before improving the terms of that offer on Monday night.
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At that point, it was thought that they were favourites for his signature despite interest from Manchester United. However, on Tuesday, the Red Devils finally turned their interest into a concrete bid and submitted an offer of their own for the Slovenian international.
The offer from Old Trafford, worth €85m in all, was reportedly €5m less than the one submitted by Newcastle United. The fee that the Magpies were prepared to part with for Sesko would have smashed their club-record on a single transfer - with the previous record standing at the £63m they spent on Alexander Isak three years ago.
As news of Manchester United’s bid for Sesko became public knowledge, it was thought that they had the edge over Newcastle in negotiations with Sesko - with the player leaning more towards a move to Old Trafford over St James’ Park. Despite not having any European football of note this season, the Red Devils would likely be able to offer Sesko a bigger wage within their structure and to be the focal point of one of the biggest clubs in Europe, even if their on-field performances of late have not matched up to their legacy.
Benjamin Sesko’s transfer decision
Fans of both clubs awaited Sesko’s final decision with Fabrizio Romano reporting on Tuesday night that the 22-year-old was favouring a move to Manchester United this summer. He wrote: ‘Understand Manchester United’s feeling from earlier today is even stronger tonight… …the club believes Benjamin Šeško only wants to join Manchester United. Man United forwarded official contract proposal to Šeško while also keep negotiating with RB Leipzig.’
On Wednesday morning, the Athletic’s David Ornstein further confirmed that Sesko had ultimately decided to join Ruben Amorim’s side, writing: ‘Manchester United closing in on deal to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. #RBLeipzig accepted €82.5m + €2.5m bid from Newcastle United but 22yo striker wants #MUFC. No club-to-club agreement yet but talks advancing towards conclusion @TheAthleticFC’.
Losing out on Sesko is yet another blow for Newcastle United who have missed out on a number of top targets to their Premier League rivals. There remains a faint glimmer of hope that RB Leipzig and Manchester United fail to come to an agreement over a fee for Sesko and that they could swoop at that point if negotiations hit an impasse, although that is highly unlikely at this stage.
With Alexander Isak’s future still to solve and a number of areas of the squad needing strengthened before their Premier League season gets underway on Saturday 16 August, the Magpies have much work to do in the transfer market in the coming days to ensure Eddie Howe has the best possible tools at his disposal to continue to be a success on Tyneside.
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