And in a further blow to the Magpies, Joe Willock is nervously awaiting the results of a scan after suffering an ankle injury that saw him stretchered off in today’s friendly defeat to a K-League All Stars XI in South Korea.
Ramsdale travelled to Tyneside earlier today to complete a medical and put the finishing touches to his move from St Mary’s.
Newcastle are paying a loan fee of £4m for the England international, and have also negotiated an option for a permanent move next summer. Magpies officials were adamant they wanted an option for a permanent transfer rather than on obligation to complete a full-time deal if certain conditions were met.
The Newcastle hierarchy turned to Ramsdale after failing in a long-running pursuit of James Trafford, who instead joined Manchester City from Burnley.
Eddie Howe previously managed Ramsdale when he was in charge at Bournemouth, and the 27-year-old will offer strong competition to Nick Pope for the number one spot next season. Ramsdale’s arrival is likely to herald the departure of Martin Dubravka, who was the Magpies’ number two last term.
While Newcastle officials achieved a relatively swift breakthrough in their discussions over Ramsdale, talks with RB Leipzig over Sesko have proved less fruitful.
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The Magpies’ recruitment team have identified Sesko as their preferred option to replace Alexander Isak if the Swede leaves Tyneside this summer. Isak’s position remains unchanged, with Howe once again insisting today that there has still been a formal offer from anyone for last season’s leading scorer. Having sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich for around £65m, Liverpool are reportedly preparing an offer of around £120m for Isak.
If the Swede is sold, Newcastle accept they will have to have an elite-level replacement in place, but Manchester United are also involved in ongoing talks over Sesko.
The Old Trafford club have bought Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo this summer, but also want a more natural ‘number nine’ to replace Rasmus Hojlund, who has struggled since moving to the Premier League.
Continental sources claim Sesko, a 22-year-old Slovenia international, has indicated that his preferred move would be to Manchester United, although at this stage, Leipzig have not accepted an offer from anyone.
Newcastle officials remain in a dialogue with their counterparts at Leipzig, although Fulham forward Rodigo Muniz has now been mentioned as another potential attacking option. The Magpies also remain hopeful of finally securing an agreement with Brentford over Yoane Wissa.
Newcastle’s summer has hardly gone to plan so far, and there was another setback today as Willock’s injury overshadowed an otherwise unremarkable 1-0 friendly loss to the K-League All Stars XI in Suwon.
Kim Jin-gyu scored the only goal of the game in stifling conditions, firing past Nick Pope at his near post in the first half, but of much more concern from a Newcastle perspective was the sight of Willock leaving the field on a stretcher in obvious discomfort in the final few minutes.
The midfielder appeared to have suffered an injury to his ankle and Achilles area, with the full extent of the injury set to become clear in the next 24 hours.
“I don’t have a major update yet, but it didn’t look great on the pitch,” said Howe, speaking after the game. “But at this moment, it doesn’t look like a major, major injury. And fingers crossed it’s not, because Joe has suffered enough. Hopefully, he’s okay.”
