Newcastle United battle Man Utd for £42m Champions League striker after release clause claim & agent talks

Newcastle United still hold an interest in RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, according to reports.

The 20-year-old joined Leipzig from Red Bull Salzburg over the summer after a £20million deal was agreed the previous year. Sesko has scored seven goals in 24 appearances for Leipzig this season with Newcastle keeping tabs on the young forward.

Mail Online claim the striker has a £42million release clause in his contract at the Bundesliga club which can be activated as early as this summer. This comes amid reports linking Callum Wilson with a move to AC Milan.

Sesko has also attracted Premier League interest from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal. The 6ft 4in Slovenian international has already earned 26 senior international caps for his country, scoring 10 goals.

Newcastle were first linked with Sesko during the 2022 summer transfer window, prior to his Leipzig move being agreed. The links were further fuelled at the time by the player's agent, Elvis Basanovic, who posted a photo in Newcastle International Airport with the caption ‘destination?’ via the Pro Transfer Agency Instagram account before following it up with a photo of Newcastle’s Quayside. He later deleted the photo from his Instagram story. 

While talks were held between the club and the player's representatives, nothing materialised.

Newcastle will be looking to strengthen their attacking options in the summer having been priced out of a permanent move for a striker this month. The Magpies have just two recognised senior strikers in Wilson and Alexander Isak and are yet to replace Chris Wood in the squad following his move to Nottingham Forest last January.