Man United transfer target Benjamin Sesko has plenty of admirers.
Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of RB Manchester United target Benjamin Sesko.(Image: Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool via Getty Images.)
With just over four weeks of the summer transfer window remaining, Manchester United are hoping Benjamin Sesko might be the answer to their striker search.
After missing out on Liam Delap to Chelsea in June, United have been linked with a plethora of strikers in recent weeks amid their desperate need for a new No.9.
For the second season running, United finished last term’s Premier League campaign with a negative goal difference, meaning they have been left with no choice but to prioritise attacking signings this summer.
United have already drafted in Matheus Cunha from Wolves and Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford, who are options to fill the two No.10 positions, but they are still on the hunt for an out-and-out centre-forward to come in and spearhead their attack.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News on Wednesday, United are advancing with a potential deal for RB Leipzig ace Sesko. The Slovenian is one of the brightest prospects in European football and is expected to cost at least £70million.
Also on the radar of Newcastle United, Sesko boasts a respectable record for Leipzig, scoring 39 goals in 87 matches for the German club. He joined them from sister club Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2023.
United recruitment director Christopher Vivell was at Leipzig when they signed Sesko and was responsible for their recruitment at the time, meaning he knows everything there is to know about the Slovenia international.
“Benjamin Sesko is among the game’s top young talents and has enormous potential to become a top player,” Vivell previously told the Bundesliga website. “He has all the qualities to do that.
“He’s extremely quick, has a great jump on him and is strong in the air. Benjamin is a real goalscorer, who despite his 1.95m (6’4”) is mobile and technically strong.
Benjamin Sesko has banked plenty of credit.(Image: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images.)
“His abilities make him a special player with a special profile.”
Vivell’s view of Sesko is almost identical to former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s. The German, who left Anfield just over a year ago, was installed as Red Bull’s head of global soccer in January, meaning he is working across the Red Bull-owned clubs.
Klopp said of Sesko earlier this year: “I’ve actually known him for a while, I knew him already when he was at Salzburg. I think we played a friendly game here when he was very, very young.
“I was really impressed, I thought, ‘Where do they get all these players? Ridiculous.’ I have no plans with him, just to make that clear. Don’t get it wrong, I will not show up in training and tell them what to do.
“Our plan, and I don’t have to ask Marco Rose [former RB Leipzig boss] what his plan is with him, I know it… he wants to help him score as many goals as possible.
“He has space for improvement, space for development, incredible skillset, incredible potential, so I’m happy that we have him.”
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