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Analysis
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EXCLUSIVE: Man Utd pull off transfer masterclass to sign Sesko - the inside story revealed
Tom Weber
- Updated: 9 Aug 2025 11:12 BST
- 5 min read
Exclusive
Manchester United claimed victory in the race to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, announcing the striker's arrival on Saturday.
United beat competition from around the Premier League for Sesko. Chelsea and Arsenal were initially interested, but in the crucial weeks leading up to the deal, it was a shootout with Newcastle.
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The two clubs were locked for days in a transfer battle over the 22-year-old No.9, with Man Utd ultimately prevailing thanks to some smart manoeuvring on their part, but also with some concessions made by the striker and his agent.
It is a deal that has left those at Old Trafford thrilled, with director of football Jason Wilcox branding Sesko as an "electrifying" signing.
Transfer insider Duncan Castles has detailed how Man Utd struck a deal with the Bundesliga club to get Sesko over the line on The Transfers Podcast, powered by FootballTransfers.
Man Utd agreed a package worth €85 million to RB Leipzig for Sesko, while they will also throw in a sweetener. The Red Devils will travel to the Bundesliga side in the future for a glamour friendly, which is expected to raise around €1.5m more for Die Roten Bullen.
The structure of the deal has played a crucial part in United winning the race for the player. Although Newcastle were ready to pay more for Sesko initially, the Red Devils have offered RB Leipzig easier-to-attain bonus payments, tipping the balance in their favour.
On the player's part, Sesko will accept a lower wage at Man Utd than he was offered at Newcastle. Furthermore, the agent also accepted a lower commission for his client to sign for the Old Trafford side.
Vivell crucial to Sesko deal
The involvement of Man Utd director of recruitment Christopher Vivell was also vitally important for this transfer. The German maintains a close relationship with Sesko and his representative, having previously worked with them in the Red Bull system.
"Vivell was the scout for Red Bull Salzburg when Sesko was taken from Slovenian football to Austrian football, and he was also the director of football at Leipzig when he moved from Salzburg to Leipzig, one of the other clubs in Red Bull's European multi-club network," Castles explained in the latest episode of The Transfers Podcast.
"So you have that long established relationship there, with Vivell betting on the player from a young age and looking at his development through the Red Bull system, and then convincing Ruben Amorim that if you wanted a kind of battering ram physical forward of the type of Viktor Gyokeres, who they failed to get - Gyokeres choosing to go to Arsenal instead - that Sesko was the correct solution for them.
"I think you can see that that ability, that personal relationship, has helped sell Man Utd to the player. And in contrast, you have Newcastle United operating without a chief executive, operating without a director of football and one of their minority owners, Jamie Reuben, doing part of the direct negotiations to try and convince the player to come to Newcastle."
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