Newcastle has raised their bid for RB Leipzig for striker Benjamin Sesko, according to Sky in Germany.
It is considered that Newcastle now offers £ 69.7 million (€ 80 million) as a fixed fee plus add-ons.
As exclusively revealed by Sky Sports News on Saturday, Newcastle offered £ 65.3 million plus £ 4.36 million (€ 75 million+€ 5 million) in bonuses for the first time and was discussed about the structure of a deal after their official offer.
Since then they have been negotiating with Leipzig and Sky in Germany that they have now raised their offer.
In the meantime, Manchester United is expected to make a formal offer for Sesko.
United is in conversation with Leipzig about what they would be willing to pay.
Sesko is open to both projects, but one source told Sky Sports News that he tends to man Utd if they can agree with a deal.
The pursuit of Sesko from United throws the future of Rasmus Hojlund in Old Trafford, where the club listens to suitable offers for the striker.
It was thought that United should sell to bring in a striker. Although the priority is to discharge players, it is to be understood that the Ruben Amorim side can buy before they sell, provided that there are selling before the window closes.
It is understood that Leipzig is interested in Hojlund and investigated the conditions of a loan. Leipzig had proposed to take the rush on loan as part of a possible deal for Sesko.
Hojlund has so far started two of the four pre-season matches of Man Utd and scored in their 4-1 win over Bournemouth, but the possible arrival of a new striker could limit his playing time.
A scenario where Sesko joins and Hojlund is staying cannot be excluded.
RB Leipzig Chief talks about Sesko Future
Sesko was absent at RB Leipzig's pre-season friendly loss against Atalanta on Saturday because of his expected departure from the club. The striker has told his teammates that he will leave, according to Sky in Germany.
Marcel Schafer, director of Leipzig for Sport, confirmed that clubs made approaches for Sesko.
“We will not go into detail there, but if I say that different clubs have shown strong interest and have made approaches, it is clear what happened,” he said.
Newcastle is also interested in Yoane Wissa, who was not part of the Brentford team for their friendly against QPR on Saturday while he insists on a move.
How: we only want the best goals
Newcastle head coach, Eddie Howe, said that Newcastle only “is looking for the best” in terms of transfer goals in the midst of a challenging window for the club.
Not only are the magpies struck by the desire of Isak to leave, but they have also missed a number of transfer goals for rivals, including Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and James Trafford.
Newcastle has also beaten a roadblock in their pursuit of Wissa after having saved a bid of £ 25 million, although the Brentford striker wants to become a member of the magpies.
With Callum Wilson who becomes a member of West Ham, it just leaves Will Osula as their alternative to Alexander Isak at No. 9.
“We are looking for the best players we can get,” said Howe. “Whatever our goal position, we are looking for the best, so I see all the situations open and available to us.
“I feel that that is the only way we want to go where we want to, namely maximize, and the quality of quantity. It has always been. That has always been the way we try to work and the way we try to recruit, and I think we've done it pretty well so far.
“It has been a challenging summer because we have missed different goals for various reasons, but we are still very competitive and we have still tried to bring very good players to the club – and that will change until the window closes.”
Sky Sports to show 215 Live PL games next season
From next season, the Premier League coverage of Sky Sports will increase from 128 games to at least 215 games that are exclusively live.
And 80 percent of all Premier League matches broadcast on television will be on Sky Sports next season.