Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United transfer target open to £55m Premier League move

Newcastle United could be handed an opportunity to land a high-profile transfer target that was said to be on their radar over the last 12 months.

The Magpies are currently putting the final touches to their plans for the January transfer window and a striker is believed to be on the agenda after both Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak suffered injury problems during the first half of the Premier League season.

There have been links with the likes of Stuttgart's in-form frontman Serhou Guirassy and Paris Saint-Germain forward Hugo Ekitike - but it is one former target that has been the subject of transfer speculation over the last 24 hours.

The Magpies were believed to have monitored the progress of RB Salzburg striker Benjamin Sesko after the Slovenia international plundered his way to 29 goals and 11 assists in 79 appearances in all competitions for the Austrian club.

However, it was Salzburg's sister club RB Leipzig that won the race for his services after they completed a £20m move that has allowed the 20-year-old to test his undoubted ability in the Bundesliga.

Speaking at the time, the striker said: “I’m very happy I can take the step to RB Leipzig in 2023 and that the transfer has already been agreed. RB Leipzig are among the top clubs in Germany and are gradually establishing themselves as one of the best teams in Europe. There will be a special success story written here in a few years, and I would like to help shape that in the future.”

Sesko is averaging a goal in just under every three games since moving to Leipzig but the form of Lois Openda has limited him to just six starts in all competitions and he has not found the net in the Bundesliga since scoring as a substitute in a 6-0 demolition of Koln in late October.

His frustrations have now reportedly led Sesko to consider a move away from Leipzig in the near future and 90Min have reported he is 'open' to a move to the Premier League, with Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all named as possible suitors. A loan with an obligation to convert that deal into a permanent move next summer if 'certain criteria' is met is said to have been put to interested parties.