RB Leipzig confirm interest from clubs in £45m Tottenham target Marcel Sabitzer

RB Leipzig have confirmed they are aware of interest from clubs for £45million Tottenham target Marcel Sabitzer, but have dealt Jose Mourinho a blow by suggesting they don't want to sell the midfielder in January.

Sabitzer, 26, is thought to be one of the top names on manager Mourinho's list of transfer targets after impressing him with his dazzling display which dumped Spurs out of the Champions League last season.

The Austrian's current deal expires in 2022, meaning the Bundesliga club could be open to selling him soon to avoid his transfer value decreasing.

But on the topic of Sabitzer's transfer speculation, Leipzig sporting director Markus Krosche suggested they would wait until the summer before allowing his departure with Leipzig firmly in the title race and in the Champions League knock-out stages.

He told Bild: 'We wanted to end the year first, both sides will deal more intensively with the topic in the spring.'

When asked about Spurs' interest, Krosche added: 'As I said, he has made a great development. It goes without saying that other clubs also notice this.'

Bild's Christian Falk confirmed last week Spurs' interest in Sabitzer, and suggested the feeling was mutual, with Sabitzer keen on a move to north London.

The club captain is their top earner with a salary of £5.5m a year, and Julian Nagelsmann's side would struggle to increase his wages.

Sabitzer can play across several positions in midfield and is regular goal contributor with 46 goals and 38 assists in his 204 appearances for the German side.

Someone of Sabitzer's calibre would ease the goalscoring burden on leading marksmen Son Heung-min and Harry Kane who have 13 and 10 strikes this season respectively, with their third highest ranked Lucas Moura on just four.