Manchester United hopeful of transfer hijack to secure signing of 19-year-old star: Reports

Manchester United are reportedly hopeful of hijacking RB Leipzig's deal to sign RB Salzburg striker Benjamin Sesko.

The Red Devils are expected to pursue the signing of a center forward next summer. Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane are reportedly high on Erik ten Hag's radar.

However, Manchester United have previously held an interest in Sesko, 19, and it appears that they are tempted to hijack Leipzig's deal for the Slovenian wonderkid. According to Football Insider, the young striker is poised to make his way to the Bundesliga in the summer but the Red Devils are still tracking him.

Sesko has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the Austrian Bundesliga, scoring 11 goals in 30 games across competitions. He bagged a hat-trick when Salzburg beat Rapid Wien 4-2 on Sunday (March 5).

The Slovenian has earned comparisons to Manchester City striker Erling Haaland due to his physique and goalscoring acumen. The Norwegian also started his career in Salzburg. The frontman admitted in an interview last year that his teammates think he is a superior attacker than the Premier League's top goalscorer (via SportBible):

"Such comparisons motivate me and give me energy. They do not represent pressure. I will listen and learn so I can be even better than he is. My teammates at the club tell me that Haaland and I are very similar, especially in terms of speed. Most of them even tell me that I’m better than him!"

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that Leipzig have a €20 million agreement in place for Sesko. He will join the German giants on July 1. Yet, Manchester United still have the Slovenian on their shortlist of forwards to help rebuild Ten Hag's attack.

They are still yet to truly replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford last November. Wout Weghorst joined the club from Burnley on loan until the end of the season last month. The Dutch striker is not expected to stay with the Red Devils beyond that point.

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Sir Alex Ferguson claims that Manchester United's Marcus Rashford is not a striker

Marcus Rashford is said to operate best off the left.

The goalscoring burden at Manchester United has been firmly placed on Rashford this season. There were question marks over how Ten Hag's side would perform in front of goal following Ronaldo's exit.

However, Rashford has flourished, scoring a career-best 25 goals in 40 games. Despite this, Ferguson has claimed that the English attacker is not a centre-forward. The former Red Devils boss thinks he operates best from the left flank:

“I don’t think he’s a striker. He operates really from the left-hand side, which is fantastic. His finishing is always good; he always keeps his shots down which is really important for a striker."

Ferguson went on to explain how he feels Manchester United could do with signing another striker:

“And he’s on a great vein of form. Unfortunately for us, he’s our main source of goals; we could do with an extra one.”

Ten Hag is not short of options on United's left flank, with Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, and Anthony Elanga all options. However, he has limited choices up top, with Weghorst struggling for goals and Anthony Martial out injured.