Benjamin Sesko omitted from Leipzig squad as Man Utd vs Newcastle transfer battle heats up

Benjamin Sesko is not in RB Leipzig's matchday squad for their friendly against Serie A side Atalanta on Saturday afternoon with the much coveted striker now at the centre of a tug of war between Manchester United and Newcastle.

Xavi Simons, who has been linked with a switch to Chelsea, is also absent because of what the Bundesliga club described as a minor neck injury. They did not explain the reason for Sesko's omission.

That follows news of Newcastle firming up their interest in the striker amid a separate saga over the future of their current top scorer Alexander Isak. The Toon have now lodged a bid of less than £70m for Sesko.

Against that backdrop, Manchester United are braced for protracted negotiations with Bundesliga club Leipzig, who are determined to stand firm on their £70m valuation.

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United made their first approach for the Slovenian star last week, through intermediaries, who opened up dialogue over a potential deal. Those talks have progressed and will be stepped up this week, once United have returned home from their three-game tour of the US.

Although United are looking to offload several players before the summer transfer window closes, they have scope to sign a striker without selling. Marcus Rashford's season-long loan move to Barcelona cleared £12m off their annual wage bill, with the La Liga club covering his entire salary.

United also raised £20.7m from sell-on clauses including Anthony Elanga’s switch to Newcastle, moves for Alvaro Fernandez and Maxi Oyedele, and the £5m paid by Chelsea to pull out of their deal to sign Jadon Sancho.

In addition, United's failure to qualify for Europe this season – for only the second time in 35 years - means they are not bound by UEFA'S limit of spending no more than 70 per cent of annual income on transfers and wages.

The structure of the deals for Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who cost a combined £133.5m, with payments spread over instalments, has given United greater freedom to spend.

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