In the wake of Alexander Isak’s desire to leave, The Athletic revealed that Newcastle United are exploring a potential deal for RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko.
Sesko was one of the most coveted young forwards in Europe last season and heading into the summer, the chances of him still being available at the end of July seemed remote. And yet a succession of clubs have passed on the opportunity to sign him and Newcastle now find themselves in position.
So, how did we get here?
He was admired, certainly, but there was never any realistic chance of him leaving Leipzig in 2024. He was a work-in-progress and not ready for the kind of scrutiny that a transfer to a major club would bring, especially under the ultra-harsh light of the Premier League.
It was a reasonable assessment. Sesko had spent much of that first season battling just to establish himself as a starter in Leipzig, and it was only towards the end of the year that he displaced Yussuf Poulsen as Lois Openda’s partner up front.
And while he did end the season with 14 Bundesliga goals, seven of those came in his final seven games. A rich run of form, no question, but one that perhaps suggested he was further along his development curve than he really was.
In any case, he signed a new contract before the start of the European Championship — at which he represented Slovenia but failed to score — and that took any move off the table.
Yes, very much so, because that new 2024 contract (until 2029) was signed to protect his value this summer, at which point he was supposed to command a fee of at least €70m (about £61m, $82m).
A bid in that range may now materialise from Newcastle, but the market has been softer for Sesko than expected. Leipzig did not have a good season, finishing seventh in the Bundesliga and 32nd in the Champions League’s 36-team league phase, and none of their players — Sesko included — emerged with their reputations enhanced.
Clubs across Europe continue to follow him. Milan carry an interest, but with little chance of financing any deal, while Al Hilal have made several enquiries with the player’s representative.
Newcastle actually first tried to sign him in 2022 and their interest has never waned. There has been no concerted effort to strike a deal in the years since, though, as for a long time the club did not view him as a realistic target. The change in Isak’s circumstances appears to have altered their stance.
It’s an unlikely development, because the queue of suitors ahead of Newcastle for a long time seemed better-placed.
Arsenal tracked Sesko for several years and committed to background work before this summer, but ended up pivoting to Viktor Gyokeres instead.
Manchester United first registered their interest in Sesko when he was 16 and playing for Domzale in Slovenia. They made an offer of just over £1m, but were outbid by Red Bull Salzburg in 2019 and that was Sesko’s entry to the Red Bull system.
There was a further enquiry in 2022, during Erik ten Hag’s first summer, but the player decided to stay in Austria and join Leipzig the following summer, in 2023, for €23m. At the time, United were put off by that figure, feeling it excessive for a player with much to learn. For his part, Sesko was unsure about such a big move at a young age and felt his best path was to develop away from the pressure of Old Trafford.
They did have one more go, making an enquiry in the summer of 2024. Sesko had already chosen to stay in Germany for a further year, though, and he signed his new contract in Leipzig shortly thereafter.
Chelsea have been following Sesko since 2022. Like Manchester United, they considered him too raw and did not compete for his signature the following summer, when Sesko left Austria for Germany. Heading into this summer, Chelsea’s demand was for two forwards — one an out-and-out No 9, the other more of an all-rounder — and for a left-winger. They may yet make a further attacking signing, but Sesko is no longer a topic in 2025.
Reasonably well, but it was not the season he needed to produce to assuage the doubts. While his overall level of performance improved in the broader sense, with Sesko becoming more connected with the rest of the Leipzig side, his goalscoring numbers were down. He scored one fewer Bundesliga goal (13) in 2024-25 than he did the year before, despite playing almost an extra 900 minutes. He was never able to replicate that seven-game streak from the previous year, either, meaning that it felt underwhelming as a result, despite some eye-catching goals (particularly against Bayern Munich at the Red Bull Arena).
But Leipzig had a bad season. They sacked Marco Rose in March, limped to their lowest finish since being promoted to the Bundesliga in 2016 and only won one game of their eight Champions League games.
That’s valuable context. Nevertheless, consistency was still an issue for Sesko and the gap between his best performances and his worst, which is a historic criticism, remains too wide.
It did not help. Sesko has only just turned 22 and remains both a player in development and one of enormous potential. But given that Leipzig’s asking price is more than €75m and more reassuring options were available for similar fees — Hugo Ekitike, Gyokeres — he has not positioned himself especially well.
That was Manchester United’s issue this summer. Like the other clubs, the finances of any proposed deal — the combined cost of the fee, the wages, and any agent commission — were prohibitive, but Sesko was not convincing enough last season to justify that kind of investment. He remains a figure of interest, but an unlikely target.
Arsenal simply chose a different player. Finances were troubling for them, too, because while they held talks with Sesko’s representatives and were in contact with Leipzig, they felt as if they were being asked to pay a premium cost for a player who, at this stage of his career, still needs significant development.
That’s a theme that repeats across the board; financially, clubs are being asked to view Sesko as a more developed player than they think he is.
From being a certain departure, Leipzig have started to concede that Sesko might stay for a further year. Xavi Simons has moved closer to the exit door in recent days, while interest is also building in Belgian forward Openda. Sell both and that would raise considerable income and, in a budgetary sense, make it viable for Sesko to stay. While the plan was for him to leave in 2025, a better season — for him and the team as a whole — would go a long way to broadening his options, if that’s what he wishes to do.
That’s not an inconceivable outcome, even with this interest from Newcastle.
According to a Leipzig source, speaking on condition of anonymity, the chances of Sesko staying remain slender, but have still increased considerably in recent weeks. The club are not necessarily unhappy about that, either, because Ole Werner has just been appointed head coach, their attack is young and in the process of being rebuilt, and having one of the better forwards in the Bundesliga next season would ease that transition and potentially take them back into the Champions League.
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 has not happened yet and, naturally, that has been a source of disappointment. But there’s no suggestion of any impending militancy and he would not be against spending another year in Germany.
He remains confident that the right move will become available at the right time and has returned to pre-season training and travelled with his team-mates to their camp in the Black Forest. The reports are good: his attitude has been normal and his application during the pre-season conditioning tests has been of a high standard.
And it is only July. The Bundesliga season does not start until late August, so there remains plenty of time for a departure to be agreed, to Newcastle or elsewhere.
Additional reporting: Chris Waugh, James McNicholas, Simon Johnson, Laurie Whitwell
Read more on The New York Times
