Newcastle transfer: Howe lines up £43m bid for Man Utd target to ‘replace’ starter after Magpies ‘agree’ sale | OneFootball

Benjamin Sesko has been linked with a move to Newcastle.

Newcastle United are lining up a bid for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko as they look to improve their forward line, according to reports.

The Magpies are already one of the highest scoring sides in the Premier League with only the top five clubs in the division scoring more goals than Eddie Howe’s side this season.

Alexander Isak (14) and Callum Wilson (8) are leading the goalscoring charts for Newcastle but there are reports claiming that Howe is eyeing up a new striker.

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And NUFC Blog have an exclusive claiming that the Geordies ‘are preparing a summer move for’ for Sesko, who has scored seven goals in 23 appearances in all competitions this season.

Sesko moved from RB Salzburg to sister club Leipzig for €24m over the summer as he looks to continue his development towards a move to one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

The report adds that Sesko has been ‘identified as one of our leading targets to replace Callum Wilson, who is expected to leave at the end of the season; where he’ll be 32 and in the final 12 months of his contract at the club.’

Newcastle, and presumably a host of other clubs, ‘are aware of a £43m release clause that is due to become active this summer’ and Sesko’s lack of starts for Leipzig is giving the Magpies ‘hope that he could be tempted by an end-of-season move to Tyneside’.

Manchester United have also been tracking Sesko for a long time and the Slovenia is aware it’s part of the Leipzig business model to develop him before moving the striker on.

Speaking in October Sesko said: “It’s a really big step to go from Salzburg to here in one of the best leagues in the world. Sometimes I have to stop myself and say: ‘Look, this can take time and then it’s going to work.’ But I am really, really happy with the start.

“I am not thinking about where I want to go next. I don’t have a favourite club to be. It’s important to make the right decision from where I have been. I just want to focus on here and let’s see what happens.”

If he eventually joins Man Utd or Newcastle, Sesko would be following in the footsteps of his idol Zlatan Ibrahimovic by moving to the Premier League.

Sesko added: “I am not saying now that I play like him but he was making fun, he was enjoying [himself] on the pitch. He was doing what he wanted to do. And that makes me really happy when I see that kind of player like him. Every single video I could find, I was looking at him.”

When asked if he will play in the Premier League one day, he continued: “It’s hard to say what will happen, you know?” he says. “I could be great or not that great! Of course, it would be nice to play there but first of all let’s focus on right now.”

The interest in Sesko comes after Newcastle ‘reached a provisional agreement’ to sell Miguel Almiron to Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab.

Newcastle United Benjamin Sesko