Manchester United told to cough up ‘£1bn, Bruno Fernandes and Fred the Red’ for RB Salzburg star Benjamin Sesko after Erling Haaland comparisons and Liverpool goal

RB Salzburg have jokingly named their award for Manchester United target Benjamin Sesko after his game-winning goal against Liverpool.

The Slovenian striker showed precisely why the Premier League side would be interested by scoring the winner in a pre-season friendly against Jurgen Klopp’s side on Wednesday.

At 19, Sesko has been branded a future star and has even been compared to former RB Salzburg striker Erling Haaland, who recently joined Manchester City for £51million.

However, to land Sesko, the Austrian champions have told United they would need much more than that.

Having already responded to transfer links with a tweet demanding £300million plus midfielder Bruno Fernandes, RB Salzburg have now increased anti following Sesko’s heroics against Liverpool.

The club tweeted: “Update: We now want £1bn Bruno and Fred the Red for Sesko.”

1 billion pounds? OKAY. Fernandes? Good. But not Fred the Red. The mascot is not negotiable. He stays.

United have a past when it comes to young forwards at RB Salzburg, having lost the race for Haaland to Borussia Dortmund in 2020 – when the Norwegian was also 19.

But Sesko revealed in a 2021 interview that some of his teammates thought he was even better than the powerhouse of Manchester City and Norway.

“Such comparisons motivate me and give me energy,” Sesko said as quoted by BUT when asked if he was compared to Haaland.

“They don’t represent pressure. I will listen and learn to be even better than him.

“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!