With Alexander Isak pushing for the exit door, Newcastle United are now reportedly in “active talks” to sign a replacement who was once dubbed better than Erling Haaland.
If you asked Eddie Howe at the start of the summer when Newcastle’s business was likely to reach completion, then his answer would have been as soon as possible. As things stand, however, the start of the Premier League campaign is just two weeks away and the Magpies have ticked just one major incoming off the list in the form of Anthony Elanga.
It has been a miserable summer for all involved, who have watched James Trafford, Hugo Ekitike and Joao Pedro head elsewhere, before Isak compiled their misery with a transfer request of his own. Simply put, everything that could have gone wrong has done so far on Tyneside.
Howe recently admitted his frustration about how things have gone in the market, telling reporters: “I wish I could give you clarity, and some kind of guarantee that this or that is going to happen, but I can’t,” said the Newcastle boss. “My wish was for us to do our business early, and we certainly tried, but it wasn’t to be.
“We’ve had a frustrating time in terms of losing targets to other clubs. I’ll be very open on that – that’s happened on several occasions. But you just have to accept it.”
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The Magpies still need a defensive addition.
For all their misery, however, Newcastle’s search for a striker has continued. Next on a growing list of targets to that end seems to be Ollie Watkins, Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz and a player who was once believed to be better than Haaland.
Newcastle in “active talks” to sign Sesko
According to Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle are now in “active talks” to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig this summer. The forward is reportedly valued at more than £65m, but money should be no problem for the Magpies given their lack of spending so far this summer and the potential record sale of Isak.
That said, it could yet be a familiar story for those at St James’ Park. Despite the fact that Manchester United missed out on European football last season and finished as low as 15th in the Premier League, reports are indicating that Sesko prefers a move to Old Trafford rather than Newcastle in the coming month.
A player who former Red Bull Salzburg coach Rene Aufhauser believed was better than Haaland at 19 years old, there’s no doubt that missing out on Sesko would be another major blow for Newcastle.
Aufhauser told reporters at the time when comparing the two star strikers: “Benjamin is maybe the better football player, better to play with the team, technically maybe better at the same age.”
