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Newcastle has submitted a new bid for Benjamin Sesko in what could be a huge boost to Liverpool’s hopes of signing Alexander Isak.
The Reds continue to be strongly linked with a move for the Swedish international, despite a $146 million offer being turned down by the Magpies last week, and no current plans to submit a new bid.
That stance may change though after Newcastle’s latest move. The St James’ Park club has been locked in a battle with Manchester United for the signing of Sesko, and looks to have taken the lead for his signature in recent days.
Now, according to The Athletic, RB Leipzig has received an improved offer from Newcastle, having failed with an opening bid of $87M plus $5.8M in add-ons.
An exact figure for the new offer has not been given, although it will be worth at least $93M given the first bid.
What’s more, it’s claimed that a proposal is yet to have been sent from Old Trafford, with the amount United is willing to pay thought to be lower than what Newcastle has presented.
That leaves Eddie Howe’s side in a strong position to land Sesko, with the club’s co-owner Jamie Reuben said to have held positive talks with the 22-year-old and Leipzig. Nothing is agreed at this stage though, and there is still a possibility that the striker could end up staying in Germany.
Liverpool might be taking a keen interest in his decision though, with a move to Newcastle for Sesko potentially opening the door for the Reds to sign Isak.
The 25-year-old was seen arriving at Newcastle’s training ground on Monday, potentially for talks over his future given the club’s players had been given a day off after returning from their tour of Asia.
Isak was left out of the touring party, and instead trained at his former club Real Sociedad in Spain. With speculation growing over his future, all eyes will be on his next moves.
"He's like any other player, we would expect him to come in and train as normal," Howe said about Isak at the weekend. In response to queries about further contact from Liverpool, Howe mentioned: "Not as far as I know.
"The player has a responsibility here to be part of a team and part of a squad - you have to act in the right way.
"So that is also at play here. We will make sure that any player does that to earn the right to train with the group. No player can expect to act poorly and train with the group as normal."
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