Marco Rose says Josko Gvardiol will continue to play for RB Leipzig in order to fend off Premier League interest in the center-back.

Gvardiol, a rumoured Chelsea target, helped Leipzig hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in their Champions League round of 16 match on Wednesday at Red Bull Arena.

After performing admirably at the World Cup alongside former Red Dejan Lovren, the Croatian defender also previously mentioned Liverpool as his "dream" destination.

But Rose insisted the 21-year-old will remain with Leipzig, despite a credible performance in a potential Premier League audition against Pep Guardiola's side.

"Josko Gvardiol will be an RB Leipzig player next season as well," he told TV 2 Sport after Leipzig's first-leg clash with City.

"I am the coach, and I am asking for that. He is happy here. He said he wants to play in the Premier League, but he didn't say when.

RB Leipzig 1-1 Man City: Man City looked comfortable at half-time, but a poor second half means that this #UCL tie is level heading into the second leg at the Etihad Stadium next month. pic.twitter.com/QyINoab9tr— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) February 22, 2023

Rose joked Gvardiol "should play basketball" after his towering headed equaliser in the 70th minute, though he was left unimpressed with Leipzig's first-half showing.

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"We should start to play and fight. It was a really difficult first half, 26 per cent possession isn't enough," Rose told BT Sport.

"We were too passive in every situation. They moved the ball and they moved us. We had no power."

However, another impressive outing for Gvardiol against one of Europe's elite secured a share of the spoils and left it all to play for in the March 14 return leg at Etihad Stadium.

"The second half was totally different. Better late than never."