Report: Chelsea to make move for Benjamin Sesko in cut-price deal
Chelsea are setting their sights on striker Benjamin Sesko as a potential summer signing, with reports indicating he is available for less than his £42million release clause.
RB Leipzig are a German football club based in Leipzig, Saxony, which plays in the Bundesliga - the top tier of German football. While only founded in 2009, they have enjoyed an unbelievable rise to the upper echelons of European football. In 2019/20, they made the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Some of the notable players to star in RB Leipzig colours in recent years have been Angelino, Timo Werner, Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano.
Some of the players who starred for RB Leipzig in the lower echelons of German football remain important figures in the game today. Joshua Kimmich left Leipzig for Bayern Munich in 2015 after spending two years with Die Roten Bullen. Meanwhile, striker Yussuf Poulsen, who also joined Leipzig in 2013, remains on the club's books to date.
Leipzig finished third in 2018/19 and again in 2019/20. The '19/20 season saw Werner bang in an impressive 28 Bundesliga goals, second to Robert Lewandowski in the league's goalscoring standings. He left for Chelsea following the end of the campaign. The 2019/20 season will also be remembered for Leipzig's sensational run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
In 2017/18, Leipzig were drawn into Group G of the UEFA Champions League with Besiktas, FC Porto and AS Monaco. Leipzig finished third, meaning they dropped to the UEFA Europa League for the remainder of the campaign.
They eliminated Zenit St. Petersburg in the Europa League round of 16, but were knocked out by Marseille 5-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals despite winning the first leg 1-0.
In 2018/19, RB Leipzig finished behind Red Bull Salzburg and Celtic in UEFA Europa League Group B, meaning they were eliminated from the competition.
It began with Leipzig topping a group which included Olympique Lyon, Benfica and Zenit St. Petersburg. Having marched on to the last 16, they made light work of Tottenham Hotspur in a 4-0 aggregate triumph.
After the COVID-19 pandemic delayed most of the knockout rounds of the tournament, Leipzig played a one-legged quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid. They won this closely-fought encounter 2-1 with Dani Olmo scoring the opener and Tyler Adams clinching the tie after Joao Felix's equaliser.
However, Leipzig were no match for Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals and lost 3-0 to Thomas Tuchel's men.
That aside, they have developed competitive rivalries on the pitch with top German clubs such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund as they compete for honours against them.
Between promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016 and the 2017 financial year, RB Leipzig experienced financial growth of 82%, as per the calculations of Forbes.
Leipzig have raised significant sums of money through player sales. Naby Keita's move to Liverpool and Timo Werner's to Chelsea were, between them, worth over €100million.
Chelsea are setting their sights on striker Benjamin Sesko as a potential summer signing, with reports indicating he is available for less than his £42million release clause.
RB Leipzig face a significant decision in their goalkeeping department with the emergence of Maarten Vandevoordt, according to reports by Kicker.
Lois Openda scored twice in the space of five minutes as RB Leipzig turned on the style in the second half to thrash Cologne 5-1 and climb to fourth in the Bundesliga.
Real Madrid's seasoned manager, Carlo Ancelotti, staunchly refutes allegations of tax fraud recently levelled against him by Spanish prosecutors.
In a Champions League clash between RB Leipzig and Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, both teams battled to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.
Real Madrid will look to finish the job when they play host to RB Leipzig at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League on Wednesday night (2000 GMT).
Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel wants to build on his side's last-gasp win over Leipzig when they travel to Freiburg on Friday.