According to exclusive reports from British media TBR Football, Newcastle United now regards Leipzig's Sesco as a potential option after withdrawing from negotiations to sign Ekitic.
Although Newcastle had in-depth negotiations with Ekitic of Frankfurt, they have now given up. Newcastle insists they did not make any actual offer for Ekitic – they would not do so unless they knew the player agreed to join.
In fact, as Chief Reporter Graham Bailey explained, Newcastle was not excited about the news that they were interested in Ekitic. Graham Bailey said: "Newcastle United is not happy that they are interested in Ekitic's news, and they suspect it is to attract the attention of other teams. But they admit that this is modern football, and soccer now works."
However, TBR Football learned that the player may now be an option for Newcastle United after Sesco missed the opportunity to transfer to Arsenal. Arsenal chose to bring in Yorke from Portugal Sports, which means that in theory Sesco can still transfer at a suitable price.
Eddie Howe is a loyal fan of Cesco. He had previously instructed the club's signing team to try to sign Cesco. Cesco is willing to stay in Leipzig after Arsenal decided to sign Yorkez, but the striker will consider other possible options. It is understood that Sesco will consider transferring to England's Chelsea and Newcastle, both of which will participate in the Champions League next season.
Leipzig offered Sesco a price of 90 million euros (£78 million) when Arsenal was eager to close the deal earlier this month. Additionally, as TBR Football previously revealed, Visa is another potential recruit for Newcastle, and Eddie Hao gave up on Ekitic's deal, but he is not short of options.
In recent weeks, Newcastle has also missed Joao Pedro, who has proved his worth in the Club World Cup. For Newcastle's possible reinforcement next, Graham Bailey added: "Newcastle has many options, not just Ekitic - they like him, they always like it, but there are other options that they are striving for."
Therefore, it is unlikely that Newcastle will stop at merely introducing Ilanga.