Newcastle United are positioning themselves to benefit from the limited competition surrounding RB Leipzig\u2019s striker Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko. Insights have emerged explaining why Arsenal and Manchester United decided to look elsewhere this transfer window.<\/p>\n
Arsenal settled on Sporting CP striker Viktor Gy\u00f6keres as their primary target, agreeing on a deal worth \u20ac63.5 million (\u00a355.2 million) plus \u20ac10 million (\u00a38.7 million) in add-ons. According to The Athletic, Arsenal judged Gy\u00f6keres to represent better value for money compared to \u0160e\u0161ko. Despite discussions with both Leipzig and \u0160e\u0161ko\u2019s representatives, Arsenal were reluctant to meet Leipzig\u2019s asking price, which exceeds \u20ac75 million (\u00a365.2 million). They also felt \u0160e\u0161ko, at 22 years old, required \u201csignificant development\u201d and did not yet justify such an investment.<\/p>\n
Manchester United continue their search for a striker but share similar reservations about \u0160e\u0161ko. The Slovenian forward scored 13 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances last season, a respectable tally that does not fully justify the high transfer fee. Instead, United have made enquiries for Aston Villa\u2019s Ollie Watkins, signaling a preference for different options.<\/p>\n
While \u0160e\u0161ko may have expected a move this summer, Leipzig appear prepared to retain him for at least another season. Newcastle, however, view him as a potential replacement for Alexander Isak, who is widely reported to want to leave. Isak did not join the club\u2019s pre-season tour, officially due to a thigh injury, though his departure remains uncertain.<\/p>\n
If Isak leaves, Newcastle would likely use the proceeds to pursue \u0160e\u0161ko. The asking price for the striker reportedly could reach up to \u00a3150 million ($202.9 million).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arsenal and Man Utd pass on Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko amidst concerns; Newcastle eye striker opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192,179,194],"tags":[317,59,225,182],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal","category-manchester-united","category-newcastle-united","tag-benjamin-sesko","tag-featured","tag-ollie-watkins","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":561,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions\/561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}