Newcastle United and Manchester United are in talks with RB Leipzig over the signing of striker Benjamin Sesko.

Newcastle made their move on Saturday with an offer worth £69.8m including add-ons. Discussions continue over the structure of that deal.

There is no official bid from Man Utd yet. Their negotiations surround what they would be prepared to pay and how they would pay it. A decision on whether a formal bid goes in will be based on those talks.

Man Utd’s pre-season preparations continue on Sunday in the Premier League Summer Series against Everton at 10pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League.

Sesko is understood to be open to both projects, but one source has told Sky Sports News he is leaning towards Manchester United.

It was thought Man Utd would have to make sales in order to bring in a striker. However while the priority is to offload players, it is understood Ruben Amorim’s side can buy before selling provided there are sales before the window closes.

It is understood RB Leipzig are interested in striker Rasmus Hojlund and have explored the conditions of a loan.

Hojlund has made it clear he wants to stay at Old Trafford and fight for his place.

Sunday 3rd August 9:00pm


Kick off 10:00pm

RB Leipzig chief talks Sesko future

Sesko was absent from RB Leipzig’s pre-season friendly loss to Atalanta on Saturday due to his expected departure from the club. The striker has reportedly told his team-mates that he will be leaving, according to Sky in Germany.

Marcel Schafer, RB Leipzig’s managing director for sport, confirmed clubs have made approaches for Sesko on Saturday.

“We won’t go into detail on that but when I say that several clubs have shown strong interest and have made approaches, it’s obvious what has happened,” he said.

Newcastle are also interested in Yoane Wissa, who was not part of Brentford’s squad for their friendly against QPR on Saturday as he pushes for a move.

What’s the latest on Isak’s Newcastle future?

Newcastle’s bid for Sesko comes with the Magpies bracing themselves for a second offer from Liverpool for Alexander Isak.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe confirmed the club rejected a bid from Liverpool for Isak, but is unsure on what will happen next.

Sky Sports News understands Liverpool’s opening offer for Isak was £110m plus add-ons. However, the total offer did not reach £120m. Newcastle are braced for a second offer.

Isak returned to Newcastle on Saturday following his personal training camp in Spain.

The Newcastle striker has been training at Real Sociedad’s training headquarters on his own, after refusing to travel with Newcastle on their pre-season tour of Asia. Isak reported a thigh injury and travelled to San Sebastián to recover with his own staff.

Eddie Howe said on Saturday morning in South Korea that he found out Isak had travelled to Spain via the media.

“From my situation I am very much removed from what was happening back home,” Howe said in a press conference ahead of facing Tottenham on Sunday in South Korea.

“I was made aware of a bid yesterday and that bid was turned down all before I even heard about it. People back in England are dealing with the situation.

“I really don’t know what happens next. From our perspective, we still support Alex in every way, and my wish is that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again.

“It is difficult because you don’t know what is going to happen. There can be all sorts of talk and hypothetical situations but then you are dealing with reality.

“The reality is we had the first bid from Liverpool yesterday. I believe that was turned down, from this point onwards let’s see what happens.

“I have no idea to try to predict that. In terms of trying to upset players, from my perspective, we can only talk about us, we try to do things the right way, signing players is always complex, we just try to do what we think is right. I can’t talk about other clubs, that is not for me to say.”

Howe: We only want the best targets

Howe has added Newcastle are only “looking for the best” in terms of transfer targets amid a challenging window for the club.

Not only have the Magpies been hit with Isak’s desire to leave, but they have also missed out on a number of transfer targets to rivals, including Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and James Trafford.

Newcastle have also hit a roadblock in their pursuit of Wissa after having a £25m bid knocked back, but the Brentford striker is still not featuring for Keith Andrews’ first team.

With Callum Wilson joining West Ham, it leaves just Will Osula as their only recognised first-team striker on their pre-season tour of Asia.

“We’re looking for the best players that we can get,” said Howe. “Whatever our target position is, we’re looking for the best so I see all situations open and available to us.

“I feel that’s the only way that we’re going to get to where we want to go, which is to maximise, and it’s quality over quantity. It always has been. That’s always been the way that we try to work and the way that we try to recruit, and I think we’ve done it pretty well to this point.

“It’s been a challenging summer, because we’ve missed out on various targets for loads of different reasons, but we’re still very competitive, and we’re still in there trying to bring very good players to the club – and that won’t change till the window shuts.”

Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season

From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.