Reports from Slovenia claim that Newcastle United are set to win the race to sign highly-rated striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig – beating Manchester United to his signature.
We still await the conclusion of the Alexander Isak saga, but this ought to provide a major boost for Eddie Howe’s side – especially after the blow of top target Bryan Mbeumo choosing Manchester United over them.
It’s not all that often that Newcastle United get one over Manchester United in the transfer market, but it’s not unprecedented. Here are five big-name Newcastle stars who Manchester United tried and failed to sign.
Alan Shearer
The big one.
The all-time Premier League top goalscorer has spoken many times about his decision to twice reject Sir Alex Ferguson’s advances during his 1990s pomp.
Shearer won the title at Blackburn Rovers. He didn’t win any silverware with his beloved Magpies but he became the club’s all-time top goalscorer and wouldn’t trade his memories of banging in goals at the Gallowgate End for anything.
“Of course, I was tempted to join Manchester United, but I do not regret either decision,” he said on his The Rest Is Football podcast.
“I had a magical time at Blackburn, winning the league and I completed my dream of playing for my home town club of Newcastle. I have memories I will hold forever and a goalscoring record that makes me extremely proud.”
Sandro Tonali
The Italian stallion didn’t directly choose Newcastle United over the Red Devils – but he did reject a move to Old Trafford in his younger days.
“In January we received an offer of €65million from Barcelona. Not later than 10 days ago we received an offer of 10 million higher than Milan’s from Manchester United,” Brescia president Massimo Cellino told Top football 24.
“But the boy was determined to go to the Rossoneri.
“I know that (Antonio) Conte has thought a lot about Tonali, but I was also convinced that he was going to Inter.
“But at a certain point the boy didn’t want to hear anything anymore and went to Milan.”
Tonali grew up supporting Milan. He spent three years at the San Siro and clocked up over a hundred appearances for the Rossoneri before his big-money move to Tyneside in 2023.
The Ferdinand
This one wasn’t a case of rejection. Ferdinand would’ve seemingly jumped at the chance to sign for Manchester United. But politics behind the scenes at QPR put a stop to that.
“Ray Wilkins called me and said Sir Alex Ferguson was going to put in an offer,” Ferdinand recalled, speaking on Kammy & Ben’s Proper Football Podcast.
“He said I had done everything at QPR and that no one would begrudge me going there. His last words to me were ‘when the best team in the land come calling, you have got to go’.”
“The chairman rang me back after he had spoken to Gerry (Francis, QPR boss). He said ‘Gerry’s resigned, I hope you can understand that losing my manager and star centre-forward in the same week is virtually impossible.’”
“He rings me back 10 days later and says ‘I might have solved your problem’. He was bringing in Ray Wilkins as player-manager!
“The only condition? That I was not sold! The first thing Ray did was call me into his office and say to me ‘I’ve taught you the most important lesson in life – always look after number one first’.”
Ferguson ended up signing Andy Cole from Newcastle that summer instead. Ferdinand stayed put at Loftus Road for one more year before signing for the Magpies. How different things might’ve been, eh?
Kieran Trippier
Six months before he arrived on Tyneside, with a vital, instant impact in Newcastle’s survival bid, Trippier came very close to signing for Manchester United.
“United did come (in for me) straight after the Euros and that was very close. I grew up with my family being reds, but it didn’t happen. Everything happens for a reason,” Trippier revealed on The Overlap.
“It just fell away. Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) was the manager at the time and everything seemed perfect, I was chuffed, it was Manchester United, the biggest club in the world.
“It didn’t happen and I was back at Madrid. Six months later I was at Newcastle. Everyone raised their eyebrows, obviously people were saying he is going for the money, and he is going for this and that.
“I have made it clear many times that I took less money going to Newcastle than I did (staying) at Madrid. I didn’t have a relegation clause, even at the position we were in, I trusted the manager and that is a key factor to why I came.”
Paul Gascoigne
Not quite the same as the others. Gazza was at Newcastle when he rejected Manchester United.
“I turned down Man United more because Spurs offered me mam and dad a house phone and £20,000 and me dad a car and me sister a sunbed,” Gascoigne reflected.
“At that time Spurs were better than Man United, they were much better. It wasn’t until I signed for Spurs a year later that Fergie brought on Becks, Scholes and they started winning everything. Then you think, wow.”
There’s been a prevailing narrative that he might’ve avoided his well-publicised off-field struggles had Ferguson got him on the straight and narrow – but Gascoigne himself has refuted that suggestion in hilariously frank style.
“Alex Ferguson says it would’ve been different if I had signed for Man United,” Gascoigne said.
“Well, Ferdinand did a runner from a f*cking drugs test. Cantona two-footed some c*nt in the neck in the stand. Rooney shagged a f*cking granny. Giggs shagged his brother’s f*cking wife. F*cking hell, man.”
Ooof.
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