Benjamin Sesko: Manchester United reach agreement with RB Leipzig for striker

Manchester United have reached an agreement in principle with RB Leipzig for the signing of striker Benjamin Sesko.

A deal worth €76.5million (£66.4m; $89.1m) and €8.5m in add-ons is in place, with Sesko given permission to travel for medical tests ahead of the proposed move.

As part of the agreement, the clubs will meet in a friendly in future at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena.

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The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Manchester United were closing in on a move for the 22-year-old attacker after offering €75m and €10m of bonuses.

Newcastle United have also pursued Sesko and saw a bid of €82.5m plus €2.5m in add-ons accepted by Leipzig on Tuesday.

But the Slovenia international favoured Manchester United and talks have advanced in an effort to satisfy Leipzig’s expectations.

The Old Trafford club then finalised the operation in a relatively smooth and fast manner. They managed to secure a lower guaranteed fee than Newcastle and will be happy if the contingency payments are achieved.

Newcastle initial tabled a proposal worth €75m and €5m, before raising that on Monday to at least €80m.

Within 24 hours, Manchester United came in at €75m plus €10m. Newcastle found a compromise with Leipzig but it became clear Sesko was leaning towards their Premier League rivals.

This comes despite Newcastle providing Champions League football in 2025-26.

Sesko scored 21 goals in all competitions for Leipzig last season and has recorded 39 goals and eight assists in 87 appearances for the Bundesliga team since joining from RB Salzburg in 2023.

Manchester United have already strengthened in forward areas via the additions of Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford.

How much will Manchester United’s new attack cost?

Analysis from The Athletic’s Chris Weatherspoon

Spending a little over £66m on Sesko takes United’s summer outlay on guaranteed fees alone to £193.9m across three forwards, with a further £13.4m potentially payable to clubs in future add-ons.

Tag on estimated agent fees and the four per cent transfer levy all Premier League clubs have to pay on incoming transfers, and their spending on new players is easily over £200m.

In that sense, this is just what we’ve come to expect from United, both before and after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s February 2024 arrival. Using financial years spanning July 1 to June 30, United spent £247.4m in 2022-23, £220.7m in 2023-24 and an enormous £343.5m in 2024-25 — the largest single-season spend in club history and the third largest in English football history (albeit that includes Matheus Cunha’s arrival, as he signed up in June).

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As with every transfer, United won’t take the full hit of Sesko immediately, with his transfer costs spread across the duration of the contract he signs. But it all adds up to huge ongoing expenditure from a club whose transfer fee amortisation bill (the annual impact of spreading transfer fees) was already nearing £200m.

United have fewer PSR troubles than once thought but cash has been rather tighter at Old Trafford recently. Payment terms on Sesko are unknown, but Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo’s deals are staggered across three and four instalments respectively, helping United manage liquidity. As well, as The Athletic detailed yesterday, there are other funding options available to the club to help foot a transfer bill which shows little sign of reducing.

What will Sesko bring to Manchester United?

Analysis by Carl Anka

The 22-year-old Slovenian striker may be the biggest, roughest and shiniest diamond operating towards the top of Europe’s top five leagues.

This summer marks the third time Manchester United have been interested, first assessing him in 2019 when he emerged at NK Domzale’s senior team at 16, before monitoring him throughout the 2022-23 season, when he scored 16 goals in 30 games in the Austrian Bundesliga for Red Bull Salzburg.

In 2025, he has developed into a sledgehammer of a striker. He combines straight-line speed, powerful finishing and sheer bloody-mindedness to become a forward that centre-backs hate playing against.

A speedy, 195cm/6ft 5in striker who spent a brief period tearing up the Austrian league before moving to the Bundesliga, Sesko has earned some comparisons to Erling Haaland. Sesko is not quite at that level, but has plenty of the raw materials to suggest he could reach it.

His shot map from 2023-24 illustrates a striker happy to go for goal wherever and whenever. Left foot, right foot, headers. Long-range cannons and plenty of pingers within the penalty box.

Sesko is a striker with sky-high potential, but there is a considerable risk when signing such a player for a club like Manchester United. He has the physical tools to adjust to life in the Premier League, but no one knows for sure whether he will have the ‘above shoulders’ temperament to deal with the scrutiny of life at Old Trafford.

(Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

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