Red-hot striker favours signing for Man Utd over Barcelona; cost of sealing deal already confirmed

Manchester United have a second shot at bringing a red-hot striker to Old Trafford and the exact costs involved have been confirmed.

Once Arsenal selected Viktor Gyokeres from their two-man striker shortlist that also contained Benjamin Sesko, Man Utd went full steam ahead for the Slovenian.

Newcastle provided stiff competition at the time and put higher numbers on the table, both in terms of transfer fee and player wages.

However, Sesko only had eyes for Man Utd and when all was said and done, a £73.7m switch was sealed.

Nevertheless, a club the size of Man Utd must always boast excellent strength in depth and TEAMtalk has been informed a new striker to compete with Sesko for starts is on the agenda for 2026.

A direct consequence of a new frontman arriving will be Joshua Zirkzee is let go. The Dutchman is hugely admired in Serie A on the back of his stellar spell with Bologna.

Before Man Utd landed Sesko, Fabrizio Romano revealed the club had been offered Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic.

The trusted transfer guru stated in early-August: “Manchester United, in the last three days, Saturday, Sunday, Monday morning, have been offered the possibility to sign Dusan Vlahovic again.

“Vlahovic is out of the Juventus project, Vlahovic is a player who can leave Juventus for a good proposal, and he’s been offered to Manchester United again. Something like, ‘Okay, if you can’t get a deal done for Sesko, Vlahovic is an opportunity’.

“He’s raised on the table, but Manchester United’s reply during all three days was, ‘We are focused on Sesko, we want to go for Sesko, we are still in for Sesko’. So United are waiting for that story as a priority.”

Romano added: “Then, if Sesko will decide to go to Newcastle… I told you several times, in that case, maybe United will consider different options for the new striker. But at the moment, [no] was the answer to Vlahovic.”

Man Utd landing Sesko meant there was no need to take 25-year-old Vlahovic in the same window too. But as mentioned, United will explore the striker market in 2026 and come next summer, Vlahovic will be available via free agency.

The Serbian’s existing deal with Juve expires at season’s end and despite being in red-hot form – he’s scored four goals in just 141 minutes of action this season – he won’t be handed a new deal.

Juventus signed two new strikers over the summer in the form of Jonathan David and Lois Openda. Per Tuttosport, Vlahovic’s race in Turin is run and he’ll be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with overseas sides come January 1.

And according to Thursday’s print edition of GdS, Man Utd are among three gigantic clubs who Vlahovic could sign for. The others are Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Why Man Utd have Vlahovic advantage

Encouragingly for Man Utd, a prior report from GdS insisted Vlahovic’s priority when he leaves Juventus is moving to the Premier League. Obviously, that gives Man Utd a huge advantage over their two Spanish counterparts.

As mentioned, Vlahovic can be signed without having to pay a transfer fee next summer, though that’s not to say there aren’t costs involved.

GdS stated Vlahovic’s camp will demand a €10m signing-on fee, as well as an annual salary of around €10m per year. €10m per annum at current exchange rate roughly equates to £165,000-a-week.

Whether Man Utd do sign a new striker to compete more fiercely with Sesko next year could hinge on finding a buyer for Zirkzee.

A direct consequence of landing Sesko was Man Utd forced Rasmus Hojlund out. His loan deal at Napoli contains a conditional obligation to buy worth €44m. The conditions that activate that deal can be found here.

TEAMtalk understands United’s striker plans in 2026 would mirror what transpired in 2025 – one in, one out.

The frontman leaving in 2026 would be Zirkzee and ironically, Juventus are among the clubs hovering, though they’re by no means the only ones.

VOTE: Sesko, Gyokeres, Ekitike, Delap… who scores more? ⬇️

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