Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Exclusives
Eddie Howe now seriously interested in £78m striker following Newcastle’s Hugo Ekitike frustration
Newcastle United now see RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko as a potential option following their withdrawal from talks to sign Hugo Ekitike, TBR Football can exclusively reveal.
Despite holding advanced talks with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, Newcastle have now backed away from negotiations.
Newcastle are insisting that no actual bid was made to sign Ekitike — they wouldn’t do so unless they knew the player was in agreement to join.
And in actual fact, Newcastle weren’t thrilled about how the news came out about their interest in Ekitike, as chief correspondent Graeme Bailey explains.
Bailey shared: “Newcastle were not happy about how the news came out about their interest in Ekitike and they suspected this was to lure other teams out.
“But they accept that this is modern football and that’s how these things now work.”
Benjamin Sesko is willing to consider a move to Newcastle
That being said, TBR Football understands that Benjamin Sesko could now be an option for Newcastle after missing out on a move to Arsenal.
Arsenal have opted to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP instead, meaning in theory that Sesko is still available for the right price.
Eddie Howe is a big fan of Sesko, and he has previously instructed the club’s recruitment team to do work on the Slovenian star.
READ MORE: How Newcastle insiders reacted to Liverpool approach for Alexander Isak
Sesko is open to staying at Leipzig following Arsenal’s decision to go for Gyokeres, but the striker would also consider options that arise.
It’s understood that Sesko would consider a move to both Chelsea and Newcastle in England, two clubs who will both be competing in the Champions League next season.
Leipzig demanded €90m (£78m) for Sesko when Arsenal were keen to complete a deal earlier this month.
Brentford’s Yoane Wissa is still a big target for Newcastle
As TBR Football previously revealed, Yoane Wissa is a big target for Newcastle as well — Howe isn’t short of options despite walking away from a deal for Ekitike.
Newcastle also missed out on Joao Pedro in recent weeks, who already proved his worth for Chelsea at the Club World Cup.
But on the back of Newcastle’s Ekitike withdrawal, Bailey was keen to point out that Howe hadn’t put all of his eggs in one basket.
He added: “Newcastle have options, it was not just about Ekitike at all – they liked him, always have, there are other options, and they are working on them.”
Therefore, it seems very unlikely that Newcastle’s business will stop at Anthony Elanga, who has already completed his move to St James’ Park.