Newcastle turned down Benjamin Sesko in 2023 and the reason is ‘fascinating’

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Newcastle have been rejected by Benjamin Sesko.

The Slovenia international prefers a move to Old Trafford – despite the Magpies offering RB Leipzig over £74m for his signature.

TBR Football understand Manchester United hope to announce Sesko by Saturday – when Fiorentina arrive at Old Trafford for the final friendly of the summer.

A five-year contract has already been agreed.

Ironically, Newcastle actually rejected Benjamin Sesko themselves back in 2023 after considering whether to buy the striker from RB Salzburg – and TBR Football‘s Chief Correspondent Graeme Bailey can provide exclusive details about that particular saga.

Exclusive: Newcastle ignored chance to sign Benjamin Sesko in 2023 as £50m fee deemed too high

Newcastle and Manchester United also battled over the man born in Radece back in the summer of 2023 – as he was preparing to leave RB Salzburg for a new adventure.

However, the £50m price tag – which is now obviously a lot higher after 39 goals in 87 appearances for RB Leipzig – was considered too expensive.

RB Leipzig eventually struck a deal for Sesko – who wanted to play a similar style of football – at around £30m due to the fact RB Salzburg also fall under the Red Bull group.

Bailey says: “It really is fascinating that for the second time in his career, Sesko had Manchester United and Newcastle in for him.

“Both Manchester United and Newcastle liked him a lot, but there were some doubts about whether he was ready at that point.

“Man United and Newcastle considered the deal which was around £30m and now he is nearly three times that, which highlights why the clubs were looking at that point.

“To be fair neither felt he was worth more than £30m at that stage, and if you were going to get him he was going to be closer to £50m. The only reason he moved for £30m was because it was Salzburg to Leipzig – the same deal wasn’t available for Premier League clubs and at that point, they didn’t think that was the right valuation.”

That has proven to be a costly error of judgement, with Manchester United now close to paying £74m for the 22-year-old.

£50m was a steep price to pay for Benjamin Sesko back then

In fairness to Manchester United and Newcastle, spending £50m on a 20-year-old striker from the Austrian Bundesliga back in 2023 did represent a real risk.

Sesko – who faces a fight for the No.30 shirt at Old Trafford – had scored 29 goals in 79 appearances for RB Salzburg before his move to RB Leipzig, a respectable record, but not exactly enough to warrant a £50m gamble.

For example, Erling Haaland netted 29 goals in 27 appearances for RB Salzburg, so the Slovenian did not show enough in Austria to justify a £50m investment for Newcastle or Manchester United.