Fabrizio Romano reveals Newcastle United are plotting 'big' proposal to 39-goal striker

Newcastle United have reportedly identified Benjamin Sesko as the “ideal” replacement for Alexander Isak.

Isak has informed the Magpies of his desire to explore a move away from the club after having his head turned in the past week. Liverpool made an informal approach last week and are prepared to pay a British record £120million for the striker.

The Swede hasn’t travelled to Singapore for the first leg of United’s Asia tour, with the club saying Isak has a “minor thigh injury”. Eddie Howe’s face Arsenal at the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday before heading to South Korea to play against the K-League All-Stars and Tottenham Hotspur.

Newcastle have long insisted that Isak is not for sale, despite reports that they value him at £150m. That stance is now set to be tested with Isak’s attempts to agitate a move.

Newcastle United identify ‘ideal’ Alexander Isak replacement

The Magpies are coming up with a contingency plan in case Isak leaves and according to Fabrizio Romano have identified RB Leipzig’s Sesko as the “ideal striker”.

The Slovenian started his career at RB Salzburg, where he won three Austrian league titles, before making the move to Leipzig in 2023. During his two years in Germany, Sesko has made 87 appearances and scored 39 goals, including four in last season’s Champions League.

Romano claims Newcastle are preparing a proposal to the player, writing on X: “Understand Newcastle are ready to present their project to Benjamin Sesko as they want to go big!

“Proposal to the player also being prepared as #NUFC see Sesko as ideal striker in case Isak leaves, as he wants to. As revealed earlier, Newcastle are very keen on Sesko.”

Benjamin Sesko has a ‘gentleman’s agreement” to leave RB Leipzig

The Italian journalist has previously claimed Sesko has a “gentleman’s agreement” with Leipzig to leave for a fixed fee between £60m to £69m, plus £4m or £8m in add-ons.

“My understanding is that Benjamin Sesko has the possibility, thanks to a gentleman’s agreement with RB Leipzig, to drop his price tag this summer for a club considered by the player as a special club,” Romano told watches on his YouTube channel.

“Sesko could cost a transfer fee around 70-80 million euros fixed fee plus 5-10 million euros in add-ons. This is the range of the potential pricing.

“And this only can be activated thanks to a gentleman’s agreement if Sesko goes to Leipzig and says, ‘okay, this club wants me, I like that, I want to go’. In that case, the price can be slightly reduced to 70-80 million euros, this is the range fixed, 5-10 million euros in add-ons,

“So let's see what happens with Sesko because if Alexander Isak leaves, it can be an option for Newcastle. He's a player really appreciated by Newcastle, the recruitment team already wanted him a long time ago, and he could be an option.

“Newcastle are now working on finding an eventual replacement for Alexander Isak, so Sesko could be one of the options.”

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