Report says how Benjamin Sesko feels about move to Premier League as Slovenian becomes main target for Newcastle United
If Newcastle United are to replace Alexander Isak this summer, which is looking increasingly likely, it seems that the Magpies have an impressive target in mind to replace him.
While it's asking the impossible for Newcastle to outright replace Alexander Isak - if it were that easy, then Liverpool would be looking at that player instead of our star striker - the club have seemingly identified a target to at least try and fill the void that losing him would leave.
Newcastle are closing in on a deal for Yoane Wissa from Brentford, but he's seen as a replacement for Callum Wilson more than Isak, so our recruitment team are going to have to dip back into that shallow striker pool to find another player.
All reports suggest that RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko is at the top of the Magpies' list, which makes sense given that Newcastle have been tracking him since they missed out on him in 2022.
Benjamin Sesko has been eyeing a move to the Premier League this summer
The Athletic have now done a deep dive on how and why Sesko, a highly-rated, young centre forward who has attracted interest from big clubs around Europe, still remains at the Bundesliga side.
Long story short: his form last season dropped off, giving clubs pause for thought, although he was playing in a struggling Leipzig side. Some clubs felt that Leipzig were asking too much for a player who isn't yet the finished article.
Should that put Newcastle off? Absolutely not. If you've ever seen Sesko play, you can see he has the talent, and his style of play would be perfect for Eddie Howe. Yes, he might need a confidence boost and a bit of development, so we shouldn't expect him to immediately replace Isak's goals, but with a bit of the Eddie Howe magic touch, he'll soon get there. We'll have Yoane Wissa to pick up the slack, and he is a proven Premier League goalscorer.
What are we waiting for?
As for whether Sesko would be open to a move to Newcastle. That doesn't seem like it will be an issue. The Athletic claims that Sesko was of the understanding that he'd played his last game for Leipzig.
"Right from the beginning of the summer, Sesko’s expectation was that he had played his last game for Leipzig and would be heading to a bigger club, most likely in the Premier League. He also believes he’s ready to take such a step in his career."
That thinking hasn't caused him to down tools at Leipzig, however, and he has returned to training with the club and continues to train well and act professionally. Unlike someone called Alexander Isak, who shall remain nameless.
Newcastle were ready to fork out £70 million for Hugo Ekitike, and Leipzig want somewhere between £60m-£70 million for Benjamin Sesko, so the money is there already for Newcastle, it seems. For us, we should just get the Sesko deal done, and then if Isak leaves, we have plenty of money to flesh out the rest of the squad; if he stays, our forward line will be unstoppable. What we can't do is wait around. Liverpool may pounce, they may not. Our guess is that they leave it as late as possible in the window, which would really put Newcastle up the creek, so it's better to be proactive.
Even if we don't sell Isak this summer, we will end up selling him within the next year, and that money, albeit likely a few million less if it's next year, will balance out the PSR books.
