Benjamin Sesko says "there's still a lot more to be done" at RB Leipzig after signing a new deal with the Bundesliga side.

The 21-year-old was linked with a move away from Red Bull Arena, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea reportedly interested in landing his signature.

However, the striker has put pen to paper on an extension to his existing contract, keeping him at the club until 2029.

Sesko, who arrived from Red Bull Salzburg on a five-year deal last July, scored 18 goals in 42 appearances during his debut season as he helped Leipzig to a fourth-place finish in Bundesliga.

And the Slovenia international, who is set to face England, Denmark and Serbia at Euro 2024, is thrilled to extend his stay with RBL.

"I had a good first year at Leipzig and am incredibly happy to be here," he told the club's official website. "[The] team, club, city, fans - the overall package is simply outstanding for me. The early contract extension was, therefore, the logical next step for me.

"Even though I didn't play or score as much in the first half of the season, this phase was very important for me and my development. I feel a lot of trust and appreciation throughout the club and that is crucial for being able to perform to my full potential.

"In the second half of the season in particular, I was able to give something back with my goals. We have a team with great potential and a balanced mix of young and experienced players. I'm really looking forward to taking the next steps with this team.

"We've already achieved a lot in my first season and often shown the amount of quality and outstanding football we can bring to the pitch. But there's still a lot more to be done, and that's now our common goal."

"Benji is one of our key players for the coming seasons and that is why the extension is a strong signal," sporting director Rouven Schroder added. "This also underlines our ambitions to be a permanent fixture in the Bundesliga and to be one of the top clubs in Europe.

"[He] embodies our DNA and playing philosophy perfectly. With the new contract, we can continue to drive our squad planning forward."

Ange Postecoglou has revealed Tottenham have a deadline if they want to make Timo Werner’s loan deal permanent.

The German joined Spurs on loan in January from RB Leipzig, scoring twice and assisting three goals in 14 matches in all competitions for the North London side.

However, Werner missed the last five games of Spurs’ season due to a hamstring injury he sustained against Arsenal.

Postecoglou admitted that he was relaxed about the situation, but whether a deal was made was out of his hands.

Speaking to reporters following their friendly in Melbourne against Newcastle United, Postecoglou said: "I think from our perspective, there's a deadline there.

"Again, a lot of that will depend on the negotiations between the clubs and how Timo feels.

"Again, from my perspective, I'm comfortable with that situation, and I'll let the other guys steer it to see what kind of outcome there is."

After a strong start to their season, Spurs eventually finished fifth in the Premier League, securing a place in the Europa League next season.

The Australian also believes the club need to bring more attacking players in as a priority to balance the higher workload next season after struggling with injuries this campaign.

"Yeah, absolutely. It's no secret [we need new forwards]. You saw the way we finished the season," he said.

"We obviously lost Richarlison and Timo Werner as well with injuries, but we're fairly light in that area.

"We started last season with Manor [Solomon] and [Ivan] Perisic, and we were quite healthy in that front third in terms of numbers, but as the year went on it became pretty evident that we needed to bulk up.

"We're in Europe as well next year, so we'll have more games, and it's definitely an area of the park we'll need to strengthen."

Andrej Kramaric scored a last-minute equaliser to deny RB Leipzig victory in Friday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw at Hoffenheim, in a game which saw Xavi Simons sent off.

Simons was shown his second yellow card with 18 minutes to play, with fourth-placed Leipzig 1-0 up courtesy of Benjamin Sesko's first-half header.

Marco Rose's team looked set to leapfrog Stuttgart into third ahead of Saturday's fixtures, but Kramaric – who had earlier been denied by a huge double save from Peter Gulasci – salvaged a point for the hosts with stoppage time mere seconds away.

While Leipzig missed the chance to move eight points clear of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund, both teams will be playing Champions League football next season after Germany clinched a top-two place in UEFA's coefficient rankings this week.

Data Debrief: Flying full-back creates again 

David Raum assisted Sesko's opener with a pinpoint cross, the eighth goal he has teed up in the Bundesliga this season. Seven of those have been headers, a joint-high tally among all players, alongside Borussia Monchengladbach's Franck Honorat.

Champions League semi-finalists Borussia Dortmund suffered a crushing 4-1 Bundesliga defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig on Saturday, denting their hopes of a top-four finish.

Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho put Dortmund ahead after 20 minutes with a curling effort from the left corner of the box, but Edin Terzic's team couldn't hold on.

Lois Openda levelled within three minutes, and Benjamin Sesko pounced with a close-range finish to put Leipzig ahead on the stroke of half-time.

Mohamed Simakan made it 3-1 just one minute after the restart, then Christoph Baumgartner came off the bench to add a fourth with 10 minutes to play.

Dortmund, who host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday, stay fifth, five points behind fourth-placed Leipzig.

They will likely have to wait on confirmation of Germany earning a fifth Champions League qualification place for next season, which was made more likely by a dismal set of results for England's clubs throughout the European quarter-finals earlier this month.

Data Debrief: Dynamic duo lead Leipzig to victory

Goals from Openda and Sesko ensured Leipzig turned Saturday's game around before the halfway point, both players netting in their fourth successive Bundesliga game together. 

They are the first pair of team-mates to achieve that feat since Dortmund's Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did so in February 2015.

Borussia Dortmund are bracing for their two most important matches of the season.

Saturday's game at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga is followed by a Champions League semi-final first leg at home to Paris-Saint Germain on May 1.

With the league title already wrapped up by runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen, attention has shifted to the battle to qualify for the European competitions next season.

Dortmund's unexpected success in Europe has thrilled fans but the team's future in the continent's top club competition beyond this term could rest a lot on the result against Leipzig.

BVB are in fifth place on 57 points with Leipzig fourth on 59 and four games left in the campaign. The top four teams qualify for the Champions League group stage, although Germany is likely to earn a fifth spot as one of the top two in UEFA's coefficient table depending on the remaining results in European competition this season.

A Dortmund defeat against Leipzig would see them drift five points behind their rivals with three games remaining, so Edin Terzic's side are aiming to keep hot on their rivals' heels.

"It is a very important, decisive game against Leipzig," said Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck.

"They are our direct rivals and it is a big difference for us finishing fourth or fifth.

"We lost against them earlier in the season and now we want to win this. It is the fight for fourth place."

Dortmund conceded a last-gasp equaliser in last week's 1-1 draw against Leverkusen but have won five of their last seven league games, including a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich.

"It is extremely important for us to keep trying with 100 per cent to get that fourth place," said goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

"We cannot sit back and relax until we have achieved that. We must maintain focus and step on the gas."

RB Leipzig are determined to wrap up a top-four Bundesliga finish, despite fifth spot possibly earning a place in next season's Champions League, the club's chief business officer said on Thursday.

Leipzig, who host Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, are fourth on 59 points, two ahead of Dortmund with four games left in the season. A win would put the Saxony club firmly in the driving seat for a top-four finish.

The top four qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage, although Germany is likely to earn a fifth spot as one of the top two in UEFA's coefficient table depending on the remaining results in European competition this season.

"That (potential fifth spot) involves a lot of data and statistics," said Leipzig CBO Johann Plenge in a media call. "We are not spending too much time on this discussion."

"This is not something we take too much into consideration. We have the ambition to be a top-four club and to be that you have to finish in at least fourth place," he said.

Leipzig, who will go on a U.S. tour from July 28-Aug. 4 and will play Aston Villa in New Jersey, also competed in the Champions League this season, losing to Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.

"The match (against Dortmund) is extremely important. We are very focused and 100% confident we will give everything on the pitch," Plenge said.

"I think we have a very good situation to finish the season as a top-four club."

Plenge said for the new season the club planned to hold on to their top performers, unlike last year when several key players, including Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Konrad Laimer, left, forcing a big overhaul.

"We had a very intense transfer period last summer. We developed some great players [for] the Premier League. We want a less intense transfer period and to keep the players together," Plenge said.

"Having them in our team next season is what we will do in the summer."

Real Madrid endured a nervy night against RB Leipzig before they booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-1 win on aggregate after a 1-1 second-leg draw.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team held a one-goal lead from the first game in Germany on February 13, but came close to exiting in the last-16 stage only for Lois Openda to miss several chances while Dani Olmo hit the crossbar in stoppage time.

It meant Vinicius Junior’s 65th-minute opener, after a superb assist by Jude Bellingham, proved decisive with Leipzig’s equaliser via Willi Orban not enough to earn Marco Rose’s men a famous European victory.

Bellingham started days after his red card at Valencia following the controversial decision by referee Jesus Gil Manzano to blow for full-time before his headed effort could count as a last-gasp winner.

Leipzig had created plenty of chances in the first leg and should have put the ball in the net with 10 minutes played when Benjamin Sesko was sent through, but Andriy Lunin made a simple save and the offside flag was raised.

Vinicius diverted an effort over the crossbar with his chest soon after, which proved a rare venture into the Germans’ half in a one-sided first 45 minutes.

Openda curled wide moments later before his golden chance arrived in the 16th minute, but he dragged wide after an excellent ball by Olmo.

The Bernabeu crowd were already restless and a blocked Bellingham effort failed to turn the tide, with Paris St Germain loanee Xavi Simons next to test Lunin.

Simons was involved again three minutes before the break when his corner picked out Openda, who brushed the side-netting with his wayward shot from inside the area.

Whistles followed at half-time and Ancelotti reacted with Rodrygo introduced, but the visitors continued to create chances with Openda able to round Lunin before his decision to cut back inside allowed the Madrid goalkeeper to dive at his feet.

Madrid frustration boiled over when Vinicius was booked for shoving Orban to the ground, but he almost created the opener on the hour mark with a great run only for Bellingham’s scuffed effort to hit Rodrygo before a Toni Kroos shot was parried away.

Ancelotti’s team had finally started to move up the gears and the breakthrough occurred with 65 minutes played.

Bellingham was at the heart of the move, carrying the ball half the length of the pitch before he found Vinicius, who made an excellent run and rifled into the corner.

Any chance that Leipzig would fold was dispelled when Antonio Rudiger deflected a shot from Simons wide, which sparked big celebrations with Bellingham.

It was the visitors celebrating with 22 minutes left though when David Raum’s cross was headed in by Leipzig captain Orban to set up a grandstand finish.

Rose urged his team to press forward for a decisive second and Olmo sent a shot wide before Orban headed another chance over.

Leipzig pushed for a final opportunity, which did arrive in stoppage time but Olmo’s side-footed effort hit the top of the crossbar and bounced over to ensure Madrid progressed.

Erling Haaland netted his 29th goal of the season as Manchester City eased into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over Copenhagen as Real Madrid battled past RB Leipzig.

The Norway international found the net after early strikes from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez at the Etihad Stadium to ease the holders to a 6-2 aggregate win.

Defender Akanji volleyed City into a fifth-minute lead from Alvarez’s corner and it was 2-0 within four minutes when, after Rodri’s header had come back of the crossbar, Copenhagen goalkeeper Kamil Grabara palmed Alvarez’s follow-up into his own net.

Mohamed Elyounoussi reduced the deficit with 29 minutes gone when he fed Orri Oskarsson and then ran on to his back-heeled return to fire past Ederson but Haaland restored the home side’s cushion in first-half stoppage time.

Willi Orban ensured Real Madrid suffered a nervous conclusion at the Bernabeu Stadium as they edged into the last eight after a 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg in Germany, the Spaniards had to wait until the 65th minute for Vinicius Junior to put them ahead on the night.

However, Orban levelled within three minutes and then went close with a header as the LaLiga leaders eventually made it through 2-1 on aggregate.

Real Mardid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has warned his players only their best will do against RB Leipzig as they look to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Los Blancos will defend a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg in Germany when Brahim Diaz scored a fine solo goal.

Ancelotti’s side have been held to three frustrating draws in their last five domestic matches, with Jude Bellingham shown a red card after the game at Valencia ended 2-2 when he thought he had headed in a dramatic stoppage-time winner as the referee blew up for full-time.

The 14-time European champions may be favourites to get the job done against Leipzig at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, but Ancelotti insists there can be no sense of entitlement.

“It’s a big opportunity to progress in a competition that is very special for us, but we will have to be at our best,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“The tie is not over, even if we do have a small advantage. We have to be at our best from the first minute to the last.

“The first leg was difficult against Leipzig, even though we created a lot of chances.

“We have to improve on that and be more dangerous because it’s going to be a different game tomorrow.

“They will look to play more in transition than us. Dealing with that defensively is going to be very important.”

Ancelotti reported no fresh concerns from the weekend, with captain Nacho Fernandez in contention to return to the side having missed some training with a minor issue which saw him start on the bench at Valencia.

England midfielder Bellingham, making his own return from an ankle injury, was sent off after the players surrounded the referee in the wake of his disallowed goal, with Madrid having earlier fought back from 2-0 down.

Ancelotti, though, feels there is no need to add further fuel to the situation, with his side now seven points clear at the top of LaLiga.

“I have not spoken to Bellingham about this matter,” the Italian coach said.

“He is someone who tries to give everything on the pitch and he is doing very well.

“The red card the other day was a mistake. He was a bit frustrated, but he didn’t insult anyone.”

Leipzig head to Madrid on the back of a 4-1 win at Bochum which left them fifth in the Bundesliga.

Defender Mohamed Simakan is suspended for the second leg, while Lukas Klostermann is doubtful because of a hip problem.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose said: “We are going to travel to Madrid and try everything.

“We want to be the most difficult opponent possible for Madrid so that they really have to stretch.”

Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel wants to build on his side’s last-gasp win over Leipzig when they travel to Freiburg on Friday.

Harry Kane’s stoppage-time winner last Sunday ended Bayern’s run of three straight defeats in all competitions.

“It’s been a good week,” Tuchel told a press conference. “A win always helps everyone, particularly a last-minute win. It’s given us confidence and a positive general feeling.

“We’ve had a good week, the messaging hasn’t changed much. We’re carrying on. Tomorrow it’s about being ready. The focus is more than ever on the here and now.”

Bayern remain eight points adrift of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen so their season probably hinges on overturning a 1-0 deficit against Lazio in the second leg of their Champions League meeting on Tuesday.

But Tuchel insisted: “The match takes place before Lazio. It’s a completely different match.

“The best preparation for one match is a successful performance. We have to take it up a notch. We managed a little uptick against Leipzig, which has given us energy.

“I’m confident we’ll win tomorrow, but it’ll only happen with full focus. It’s always difficult in Freiburg.

“They’re very flexible, very variable and do a lot of running. They carry the ball well down the right with (Ritsu) Doan. (Vincenzo) Grifo on the left tries to be a threat with crosses from deep.

“They also use long balls with up to seven attacking players. We need answers and that’s what we’ll prepare the team for. It’s always passionate in Freiburg, too.”

Tuchel will hand a late fitness test to former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.

“Leroy always wants to play,” he said. “He’s someone who can tolerate pain extremely well. He’s felt something in the last few weeks.

“Maybe he’s been grinning and bearing it a bit too much. I get the impression he’s not completely free. He has a lot of aches and pains and is paying a bit of a price for the overload.

“We need to find the best solution for tomorrow. He’s doing an individual test now. If he can, we’ll take him into the final training session.

“We’ll see if he can make the squad tomorrow and perhaps help us from the bench. We have to look from day to day.”

Matthijs de Ligt is suspended in Freiburg so Minjae Kim will come into the side.

“Serge Gnabry is back in training but it’s too early to take him,” added Tuchel.

“Alphonso Davies is also back in training, he’ll be in the squad. Kingsley Coman, Sacha Boey and Noussair Mazraoui aren’t available.”

Harry Kane struck a stoppage-time winner as Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 2-1 to lift the gloom around the Allianz Arena.

It looked as though Benjamin Sesko’s deflected 70th-minute strike, cancelling out Kane’s first goal of the evening, would be enough to earn the visitors a point but the England captain popped up in the first minute of time added on to earn a much-needed victory.

The gap to Bayer Leverkusen remains a daunting eight points but, in the first match since Thomas Tuchel announced he would step down at the end of the season and coming off three straight defeats, Bayern needed this one, as was apparent by the relief shown in their celebrations.

Bayern could and perhaps should have been ahead in only the fifth minute. Raphael Guerrero dinked a cross in for Kane, but Janis Blaswich was down smartly, pushing his header against a post before gathering at the second attempt.

Bayern would come to rue that missed opportunity as creating others against a well-organised Leipzig side, defending in numbers and relying solely on counters to provide their own threat, proved difficult.

Just before the break, Thomas Muller headed down a free-kick for Kane, but his ambitious overhead kick lacked the power to worry Blaswich.

The contest improved in the second half as both sides stepped up their attacking intent.

Leipzig were the first to seriously threaten in the 53rd minute when Xavi Simons’ corner found Mohamed Simakan in space near the edge of the box, but his shot across goal went just the wrong side of the post.

Three minutes later, Bayern were ahead. Jamal Musiala slipped the ball through for Kane just inside the area and his first-time shot had the power to beat Blaswich.

Sesko soon had a chance to level as he broke into the box, but Manuel Neuer was quickly off his line to deny him.

However, there was nothing the Bayern goalkeeper could do soon after as the young Slovenia striker got the equaliser.

Neuer may well have had his shot from the edge of the box covered, but Leon Goretzka lunged in to try to block the ball, and a nick off the end of his boot sent it beyond the goalkeeper.

But there was a final twist to come in stoppage time as Eric Choupo-Moting lifted the ball into the box and Kane fired in his 27th goal of the season to earn the win.

Thomas Tuchel insists he will give everything to Bayern Munich ahead of his departure in the summer and hopes the decision over his future allows the team to play with “freedom”.

Tuchel has been unable to arrest a downturn in form, and speculation over his position came to a head this week when the club announced he would be leaving at the end of the current campaign.

Saturday’s game against RB Leipzig will be his first in charge since the news became public, with Bayern looking to end a three-game losing streak following losses to title rivals Bayer Leverkusen, Lazio and Bochum.

And while there is a possibility Tuchel could be seen as a lame duck coach over the coming months, he thinks the removal of uncertainty over his role could spark an upturn.

“I view it professionally and unemotionally. It’s a professional sport at the highest level,” he said of his shortened reign.

“There aren’t guilty individuals. I don’t think I’m the only problem, but I have responsibility. Now we have a new situation, it’s resolved, which hopefully makes it clear and brings freedom.

“This job only works if I give 100 per cent of myself. I have a very high professional expectation of myself and that’s completely dedicated to Bayern Munich until the end of the season. We have aims: we’re going for the maximum in the league and won’t give up until it’s over. In the Champions League we still have a second leg (against Lazio), so we are playing for maximum success.”

Tuchel resisted the temptation to divert blame away from himself and on to his players, but accepted the performance levels on matchday had been falling consistently short of expectations.

“The management know my analysis, which is also very self-critical. But it’s definitely not an analysis for the public,” he said.

“I’m not personally disappointed in the players. We have high standards, that won’t change. I’ve never had the feeling that there’s a big problem but there is a glaring discrepancy between the way we’re training and the way we’re playing. We’ve trained at a good level but that’s no guarantee that we’ll produce a good performance.”

Injuries have upset Bayern’s rhythm this term and they continue to be stretched, with Dayot Upamecano suspended and an injury list that contains Kingsley Coman, Sacha Boey, Noussair Mazraoui, Bouna Sarr, Serge Gnabry and Alphonso Davies.

Leipzig have proved tricky opponents in recent times, taking two draws and two wins from their last four games against Bayern.

Dani Olmo bagged a hat-trick when his side romped to a 3-0 win in the Super Cup final last August, a memory that still burns bright with the Spaniard.

“I would say it was a perfect game from all of us and for me individually to score three goals in Munich, in the Allianz, and to be able to win a trophy,” he said.

“It was for sure one of my best performances but we have to keep going because football never stops and now we have another chance. Bayern is always the opponent that motivates us. It’s always special.”

Brahim Diaz provided a stunning response to the challenge of deputising for the injured Jude Bellingham by firing Real Madrid to a 1-0 Champions League victory at RB Leipzig.

Diaz’s superb 48th-minute solo effort secured a last-16 win at the Red Bull Arena to put the Spanish side in the driving seat ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu, although he later limped off in a fresh blow for boss Carlo Ancelotti.

His intervention could hardly have been better timed with 20-goal England international Bellingham facing two to three weeks on the sidelines with a sprained ankle and the 14-time European champions misfiring for long periods in his absence.

Indeed, had Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko made the most of the chances which came his way and Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin not been in inspired form, the Spaniards might have had significantly more work to do on their own pitch.

The hosts set out their stall from the off when Sesko headed into the net after Xaver Schlager had helped the ball back into the box from Lunin’s punch as he dealt with David Raum’s second-minute corner.

However, the assistant referee’s flag went up immediately and the goal was disallowed, with replays showing Sesko was not offside but team-mate Benjamin Henrichs, who made contact with Lunin, was.

Sesko might have had a hat-trick inside the opening 10 minutes, failing to make the most of Xavi Simons’ fine pass and then firing straight at Lunin, although in the meantime, Real defender Aurelien Tchouameni saw a ninth-minute header cleared off the line, with keeper Peter Gulacsi safely claiming Eduardo Camavinga’s follow-up.

Henrichs tested Lunin from distance, but Toni Kroos responded in kind to keep Gulacsi on his toes after Vinicius Jr had made his first real contribution down the left.

Camavinga got in a vital touch to deflect Sesko’s 20th-minute attempt into the side-netting as Real continued to look vulnerable at the back, with Tchouameni having to make a vital challenge to deny Sesko before Vinicius stabbed wide after exchanging passes with Diaz in stoppage time.

But Bellingham’s replacement broke the deadlock within three minutes of the restart, and he did so in spectacular fashion.

Picking up the ball wide on the right, Diaz span away from Raum and cut inside Simons and then Schlager before curling a left-foot shot across Gulacsi and inside the far post.

Leipzig would have been level almost immediately had Lunin not produced a double save from Dani Olmo and Sesko, and the keeper had to race from his line to prevent Sesko from latching onto Olmo’s excellent through-ball as the Germans fought for a way back into the game.

At the other end, Schlager did just enough to put off Rodrygo as he ran onto Vinicius’ 64th-minute pass after Real had broken at pace, and the Brazilian saw a shot come back off a post after he and Diaz had ripped the home defence to shreds with 19 minutes remaining.

Lunin produced a string of saves to deny Simons, Sesko and Amadou Haidara as Leipzig pushed for an equaliser, but the late assault proved to no avail.

Jude Bellingham has not travelled to Germany for Real Madrid’s Champions League round-of-16 first-leg clash against RB Leipzig due to an ankle injury.

The England midfielder was not named in the Real squad for the trip after a sprained ankle forced him off in Saturday’s 4-0 win over surprise LaLiga title rivals Girona – but not before he had scored a brace.

Bellingham has scored 20 goals in 31 appearances for Real and rapidly become one of their most important players but manager Carlo Ancelotti is confident his side can cope.

“We have to think that Bellingham isn’t here, but we’ve won four out of four games without him,” the Italian said at his pre-match press conference. “Those who have replaced him have done very well, like Brahim (Diaz) or Joselu.

“He’s a very important player, but I think this has been an opportunity to get more motivated.

“We arrive on the back of a good run – the form is good. We are up against a good side with plenty of quality that plays a high-tempo game.

“We have shown lots of character, and credit to the team. The vibe is good.”

Leipzig boss Marco Rose, who coached Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund in 2021-22, is not convinced the 20-year-old will not feature on Tuesday.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Monday, he said: “I won’t believe that Jude will be out until he’s not in the stadium tomorrow.

“I know Jude, I know that he will do everything to play a Champions League game.”

Even without Bellingham, Ancelotti has plenty of star-power to choose from, but Rose insists his side will not be intimidated.

“We’re certainly not afraid,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the opponent, to the task, to our stadium. That’s what we want. What we worked hard for last season and now in the group stage.

“Real Madrid have developed outstandingly this season and become one of the strongest teams in Europe. They are in exceptionally good shape – in all areas.

“They know what it means to play in the Champions League and win it too. And we know about their qualities.

“But we’re not that bad and we have great footballers in our ranks. We will give everything and look for our opportunities to develop a good starting position.”

Defender Mohamed Simakan is in contention despite picking up a knock in the weekend Bundesliga draw at Augsburg, while midfielder Amadou Haidara has stepped up training after picking up a knee problem on Mali duty at the Africa Cup of Nations but remains doubtful.

Tottenham have completed their first signing of the January transfer window with the loan addition of RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner.

Former Chelsea attacker Werner arrives on a six-month deal, which includes the option to make the transfer permanent in the summer.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou gave the green light to sign the 27-year-old with captain Son Heung-min set to miss the next month while at the Asian Cup with South Korea.

Werner returns to the Premier League with unfinished business after he endured a mixed spell at Chelsea, scoring 23 times in 89 appearances after a £54million move.

The Germany international did play a role in the Blues’ Champions League success in 2021 and will aim to rediscover his best form in London.

Werner left Chelsea two years ago to return to his former club Leipzig in a £25m switch and while he scored 16 times last season, opportunities have been limited under manager Marco Rose this term with only four starts in all competitions.

He is in line to make his Tottenham debut in this weekend’s away fixture at Manchester United and could extend his stay in N17 if the temporary switch proves to be a success.

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An option to make the transfer permanent for a fee between 15million and £20m euros has been included in the deal.

While Werner boasts an inconsistent record over the past few seasons, his versatility will provide greater options in attack for Postecoglou with the ex-Stuttgart forward able to play in a central role or on either wing.

Tottenham are also chasing the signature of Genoa’s Radu Dragusin.

Spurs stepped up talks with the Serie A club last week but face competition from Bayern Munich in their efforts to conclude a deal for the Romania centre-back before Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Djed Spence could head in the other direction after being offered to Genoa on a six-month loan, PA understands.