How Newcastle United Can Emerge Stronger From Benjamin Sesko Rejection

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA – SEPTEMBER 9: Benjamin Sesko of Slovenia celebrates a hat-trick after scoring Slovenia’s third goal during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League B Group B3 match between Slovenia and Kazakhstan at Arena Stozice, on September 9, 2024 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)

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Another day, another rejection. That has been the story of Newcastle United’s transfer window, and panic has set in amongst the fanbase. The latest could be the worst; RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko has chosen to join Manchester United despite Newcastle having agreed a fee of up to £78.5m ($104m) with the German club, and his potential arrival could have been a much needed boost to what has become a nightmare summer.

But Sesko, 22, will join Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and James Trafford in signing for another club after Newcastle made its move. The deal isn’t done yet, and Manchester United still needs to agree a fee with Leipzig after offering less than Newcastle on Tuesday, but the latest development only confirms what was feared on Tyneside for some time.

Now many are asking, why can’t a club backed by the world’s richest owners, which is in the Champions League and just won its first domestic trophy in 70 years, attract the players it wants to strengthen its roster for the upcoming season?

There are many answers to that. Newcastle is competing for a small pool of players with more established clubs, also in the Champions League with greater history of winning trophies and/or ability to pay bigger wages. It has been a humbling experience for the club, which is also lacking the required boardroom structure with no Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or sporting director in place, having thrived with a different transfer strategy in years gone by. Signing players with more risk attached would have seen more success this summer.

The ongoing saga surrounding the future of Alexander Isak has clouded the entire window, too. Liverpool has been interested since March, and after enquiring with an informal suggestion of a £120m ($160m) bid in mid-July, officially offered £110m ($146m) last week. Isak has also tried to force a move, making it clear he wanted to explore his options and choosing not to go on the club’s pre-season tour of Asia, from which it returned on Monday.

He also flew to Spain for an individual training camp without informing Newcastle; he is incurring punishment by training alone and being kept away from a team-bonding event with the other players and their families on Wednesday.

It was said that the swift and firm nature of Newcastle’s rebuttal at the time deterred the Premier League champions from a second bid, although it is hard to see that lasting long.

Liverpool had always insisted it would not move unless Newcastle opened doors to a sale. Both publicly and privately, that hasn’t happened, but the offer came anyway. Newcastle did acknowledge the need to discuss a deal if two conditions were met; the £150m ($200m) minimum price and a striker of a similar status to Isak being signed, hence the interest in Sesko. Neither has happened.

The impending sale of striker Darwin Nunez – ironically to Al Hilal, which is also, like Newcastle, owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund – may bring Liverpool back to the table. Yet Newcastle’s resolve to keep Isak, thanks to Sesko’s rejection, has only strengthened.

Alexander Isak must stay now Benjamin Sesko won’t sign

Signing a striker on Isak’s level is impossible – many inside St James’ Park believe he is the best in the world – but Sesko was targeted due to comparisons with the Swede when he signed from Real Sociedad three years ago.

He is raw, but with world class potential and in need of a nurturing environment to achieve it; Isak is the best case study in that regard, while talented players have often wilted under pressure at Old Trafford. Yet, Manchester United’s name precedes it, and even in what could be described as its worst modern period, it has still won two trophies and reached another final in the last three seasons.

Sesko was the standard required to allow Isak to leave. There are other options being considered – Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins among them – but nobody with the current standing of Isak or potential of Sesko. There is also the subplot of Newcastle simultaneously chasing a replacement for Callum Wilson, with Brentford’s Yoane Wissa highest priority as things stand.

With Liverpool still unlikely to offer the required fee for Newcastle’s crown jewel, it should be obvious what needs to happen next.

The only power play Newcastle has left is to keep Isak and strengthen in other areas, with midfield and defence key too. It is important the club is not bullied into selling a player with the talent to keep the club moving forward; with Sesko the last hope of a suitable replacement now seemingly off the table, reintegration has to be the focus.

Isak wants to leave Newcastle. But a lot of the narrative around him has been exaggerated to a point. There has been no transfer request, no bad blood or burning of personal relationships; this week, when required, he returned to work. The expectation internally was always that Isak would leave next summer, and a payrise and release clause in a new contract could be a solution.

In September, if he hasn’t moved to Liverpool, he will face a choice to go on strike or knuckle down and score goals in the Champions League, with a potential World Cup on the horizon next summer. The idea he wouldn’t settle back in is fanciful.

For all the frustration and anger on Tyneside, the club can still play its strongest card to save its season.