Newcastle have made a formal bid to sign RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, sources have told ESPN, after boss Eddie Howe admitted the situation surrounding unsettled star Alexander Isak was “far from ideal.”
All eyes are on St James’ Park right now as the Premier League club look to keep the Sweden striker while also attempting to bring in a big-name forward.
Sources have told ESPN that Newcastle have accelerated talks with Leipzig to sign Sesko — who Manchester United also have in their sights. Sources would not confirm the value of the bid, but British media report said it is worth up to £69.7 million ($92.5m)
The development comes after the Magpies rejected a £110m ($146m) bid for Isak on Friday from Liverpool, who recently beat them to the signing of Frankfurt frontman Hugo Ekitike.
“I think from my situation, I am very much removed from everything that is happening back home,” Newcastle boss Howe said on Isak.
“I was made aware that there was a bid yesterday. That bid was turned down all before I even heard about it, so I think there’s people back in England dealing with the situation.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen next, but from our perspective we still support Alex in every way, and my wish is still that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again.”
Isak did not travel to Asia for Newcastle’s pre-season tour due to what the club called a “minor thigh injury,” only for talk of his unhappiness to emerge.
Howe admitted “you don’t know what’s going to happen from this point” and, surprisingly, that he found out that the 25-year-old was training with former club Real Sociedad through the media.
“I know where he is, really, through the media, so I think from that perspective it’s difficult for me to go into any kind of detail,” the Newcastle boss said.
“The situation is far from ideal and it is quite complex. I think that’s all I have got to say.”
Howe was speaking at a press conference in Seoul previewing a friendly against Tottenham and was tight-lipped when quizzed on Newcastle’s pursuit of Slovenia international Sesko.
The manager said “he can’t talk about individual targets” in the wake of reports in the striker’s homeland overnight claiming that the 22-year-old wants to move to St James’ Park rather than Old Trafford.
Newcastle have now reportedly made a €75m ($86.9m) bid to Leipzig, with a further €5m ($5.7m) in potential add-ons.
Howe said: “We are looking for the best players that we can get. 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 try to recruit, and I think we’ve done it pretty well to this point.
“It’s been a challenging summer, as you know, 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 until the window shuts.”—ESPN
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
