Manchester United handed massive boost in pursuit of £42 million star transfer

A new report has revealed that Manchester United may be able to sign Bundesliga star Benjamin Sesko without activating his £42 million release clause.

Scoring on 12 occasions as well as picking up 2 assists, Sesko‘s debut season at RB Leipzig has been a mixed bag.

Joining Leipzig in the summer of last year for a reported £20.8 million, Sesko has battled Lois Openda, Yussuf Poulsen and Christoph Baumgartner for minutes leading the Leipzig line so far this campaign.

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With both Poulsen and Openda picking up more Bundesliga minutes than Sesko so far this season, it now seems that the Slovenian international may well be leaving Germany this summer.

According to 90min, the forward is believed to be looking for a “new challenge”, with Leipzig prepared to allow his exit from the club. Sesko had signed for the German side from affiliated club Red Bull Salzburg.

Sesko, 20, was reported heavily as a United target before his move to Leipzig, with the Telegraph claiming Erik ten Hag wanted him as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo back in November of 2022.

Now, over a year later, United are again keen on bringing the attacker to the club, with the Red Devils willing to bring in a young striker to provide competition for Rasmus Højlund.

One asset of Sesko’s game that helps make him such a desirable signing is his relatively impressive injury record. The 28-time capped Slovenian international has not missed a game through injury since March of 2022, spending the last two years with an almost exclusively clean bill of health.

It has been confirmed that Sesko has a release clause of £42 million in his contract. However, 90min’s report notes that Leipzig are “open-minded” about how a deal for Sesko is structured.

The report claims that the German side will facilitate Sesko’s exit from the club, as long as their valuation is met – even if that means the signing club does not have to directly trigger Sesko’s release clause.

Finally, it was noted that United will have to fend off interest from fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Chelsea for Sesko’s services. Elsewhere PSG are also keeping tabs on the striker, though a move to the Prem seems most likely.