RB Leipzig now interested in signing TOP Man Utd star in Surprise Benjamin Sesko swap deal

RB Leipzig now interested in signing TOP Man Utd star in Surprise Benjamin Sesko swap deal

RB Leipzig have indicated they are open to selling Benjamin Sesko to Manchester United in a player-plus-cash deal.

United have made Sesko their top striker target after missing out on Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal and going cold on Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson.

Gyokeres was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford but ended up rejecting Manchester United in favour of their Premier League rivals Arsenal.

The Red Devils have since been linked with Jackson but Chelsea’s staggering asking price of £80m has put United – and other clubs – off a move.

Manchester United therefore turned their attentions to Sesko and Ollie Watkins, the Aston Villa and England striker, but the former is believed to be the club’s preferred option

Sesko scored 21 goals last season and at 22 is yet to hit his peak. With 16 international goals already, the highly-rated forward is expected to surpass the 35-goal mark and become Slovenia’s all-time top goalscorer

Even that reduced figure looks beyond Manchester United, who have already spent over £120m this summer on Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo and were hit financially by their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

But the prospect of a player-plus-cash deal for Sesko has been raised as a possibility after RB Leipzig identified Rasmus Hojlund as a possible replacement for their current striker.

The Athletic say Leipzig are ‘among several clubs’ looking at Hojlund, who could be sold following a difficult spell at Old Trafford.

Given the disparity in the players’ valuations, Manchester United would still need to spend some cash on Sesko even if Hojlund was included as part of the deal.

Hojlund has not been told to find a new club and Ruben Amorim was full of praise for the Norwegian following the pre-season win over Bournemouth on Wednesday.

‘People focus on the goals and we suffer a lot because of the lack of goals,’ said Amorim. ‘I think not just the goals, but the way he connects the play every time we have to kick the ball [long].