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It's no secret that Barcelona's top priority in the summer transfer window is to find a replacement for the now-departed Robert Lewandowski, who has been tied to a move to the MLS in recent weeks. The task of replacing the Polish striker won't be easy, given his raw offensive output during his time in Catalonia, netting 120 goals and 22 assists across his five-season stay, but Barcelona have been trying their best to find someone to do the tall task.
One of their first targets was that of fellow La Liga side, Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez, with the interest being snubbed out almost immediately following a public exercise by Real Madrid, which revealed his asking price was above 150 million. This made life difficult for Barcelona, but it's been apparent that they've been looking towards the Premier League, whether it's Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi, or more recently, Manchester United's Benjamin Sesko.
The Slovenian striker just got done wrapping up his first year at Old Trafford, following his move from RB Leipzig in the previous transfer window. In his debut season in the English top flight, Sesko would manage to be quite the threat in front of goal, putting 12 shots past the keeper, while recording a lone assist. While these numbers aren't the same as what the Catalonian side could expect from Lewandowski, given Sesko's frame and young age, it could be imagined that he would grow into a similar role as the Polish icon.
Barcelona shown the door on Sesko interest
While the La Liga giants carry a lot of weight with their name, they won't be able to take the Slovenian away from the English side, as the Red Devils have made up their mind regarding any move for Sesko: they want to keep him at Old Trafford.
As reported by TEAMtalk's Graeme Bailey, the Red Devils aren't entertaining any offers for Sesko, as they wish to retain him going forward, even with a shared interest from the aforementioned Madrid-based club.
"Manchester United have no interest in parting ways with Benjamin Sesko this summer, despite interest from Spain and enquiries from intermediaries acting on behalf of both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, TEAMtalk understands," writes Bailey.
The Red Devils' hesitance to sell their star striker makes perfect sense, given they just acquired him within less than a year, as well as they're set to make their return to the Champions League in the coming campaign, so they'll need all hands on deck to make a proper account of themselves.
This is set to be a massive blow for Barcelona's efforts in finding a replacement for Lewandowski, but as stated previously, they can still reach out to Bournemouth for their wonderkid, as well as having options elsewhere.
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