Manchester United may have scuppered Newcastle's attempts to pre-emptively replace star striker Alexander Isak by lodging a late bid for Slovenian centre-forward Sesko.
RB Leipzig are open to a sale and are said to value the player at €75 million, with Newcastle previously the only club to have made a formal proposal in that price range.
Reports in the north-east suggested there was confidence a deal could be concluded, however, fresh doubt has been cast on Sesko's arrival at St. James' Park as fellow suitors Man United have weighed in with an offer of their own.
Manchester United formally enter Benjamin Sesko race
According to The Athletic, Man United's proposal is €75m with achievable future add-on payments worth up to €10m.
This is likely to meet Leipzig's demands and comes before the German club had issued a response to Newcastle's latest Sesko offer.
Supposedly, there is confidence at Old Trafford that Sesko would prefer a move to the Manchester club as opposed to Newcastle, who could lose Isak to Liverpool before the closure of the summer transfer window.
Man United have already signed Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford and Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a combined total of approximately £135m.
Should they be successful with their Sesko approach, it would bring Ruben Amorim's side's spending on attackers this summer to over £200m.
Liverpool saw a £110m offer for Isak rejected last week before communicating to various media outlets that they would not return with a second bid.
There is skepticism with regard to the sincerity of the Reds' assertion as the club are widely expected to return for the Swede later in the window, provided Newcastle can source a replacement.
Newcastle's current striking options are limited to the want-away Isak and Danish youth international Will Osula, after experienced forward Callum Wilson chose to leave Tyneside on a free transfer, later joining West Ham United.
