How Leipzig became 'perfect' destination for Europe's young stars

Fresh from a summertime projecting himself arsenic 1 of Europe's finest playmakers, the nonaccomplishment of Dani Olmo whitethorn good person sparked interest astatine RB Leipzig.

Instead, the Bundesliga nine celebrated the transportation arsenic confirmation of a doctrine that has seen them look arsenic the go-to destination for young talent.

Olmo's departure successful a £51m deal for La Liga giants Barcelona followed a victorious Euro 2024 run with Spain, successful which helium finished arsenic associated top-scorer and came connected the backmost of 4 promising years astatine nine level successful Leipzig, having joined the nine from Dinamo Zagreb.

He joins a stellar database of names to person been recruited by the club, oregon the wider Red Bull model, developed and sold connected for steadfast profit.

It is the 4th clip successful 2 years Leipzig person banked much than £50m connected a player, with midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai joining Liverpool, guardant Christopher Nkunku moving to Chelsea and defender Josko Gvardiol signing for Manchester City - the club's grounds merchantability astatine £77m.

For Marcel Schafer - the RB Leipzig managing manager of athletics who joined from Wolfsburg successful the summertime - the merchantability of Olmo, on with that of 24-year-old defender Mohamed Simakan to Saudi Arabian broadside Al-Nassr for £29m, presented an accidental alternatively than a setback.

In came highly-touted 19-year-old winger Antonio Nusa, teenage midfield prospects Assan Ouedraogo and Arthur Vermeeren, initially connected loan, 22-year-old goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt and 24-year-old defender Lutsharel Geertruida - each for a combined £30m little than this summer's sales.

"My feeling aft the archetypal transportation model was the players decidedly privation to travel to Leipzig due to the fact that they saw truthful galore examples successful the past," explains Schafer.

"It is not lone Dani Olmo, it is Josko Gvardiol, it is Szoboszlai, it is Nkunku, and truthful galore much examples.

"They spot precisely that this nine has a immense potential, is simply a cleanable club, not lone successful Germany, but successful the full of Europe for young, apical talents."

It is not that Leipzig simply privation to make talented players to past merchantability them, they judge their methods tin beryllium - and person been - successful.

The nine person won the German Cup twice, reached the Champions League semi-finals and volition footwear disconnected their sixth successive run successful the contention astatine Atletico Madrid connected Thursday.

Quickly scaling the German shot pyramid pursuing Red Bull's takeover successful 2009, they person lone finished extracurricular the apical 4 erstwhile successful 8 Bundesliga seasons and doubly ended arsenic runners-up.

"We are confirming it each azygous summertime successful each transportation window, we are the cleanable nine for young players, to assistance them for a definite clip successful their vocation and past to bring them to perfectly apical clubs," says Schafer.

"Because we are realistic, we person immense potential, we are each convinced present that we person the anticipation to vie with very, precise bully teams successful each our competitions. But determination are possibly 10 much clubs successful Europe, we cognize they are possibly supra us.

"But this is precisely our strategy, our philosophy. So, for example, Dani Olmo - everyone present astatine the nine was precise blessed that Dani made the measurement due to the fact that it helps america to get the adjacent young, top, apical talents."

Other apical income see Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano to Liverpool and Bayern Munich, who similar Szoboszlai joined from Red Bull Salzburg.

There is an statement that were Leipzig capable to bent connected to their apical talents they could tract an incredibly beardown team, but determination are nary plans to alteration strategy.

"Sometimes you request to see the presumption of a player," adds Schafer. "If you support a subordinate oregon artifact a subordinate erstwhile helium has a accidental to spell to Real Madrid oregon FC Barcelona, is helium inactive the aforesaid subordinate successful the adjacent year? Does helium inactive person the aforesaid mindset?

"If a subordinate wants to leave, if the economical portion is OK for each the parties, you decidedly request to see it arsenic a nine similar Leipzig due to the fact that we ever privation young and bare players.

"We don't deliberation it's only, 'we request to support each the players for 5 to 10 years and we'll triumph everything' - we don't deliberation similar that."

RB Leipzig did clasp 2 of the astir promising 21-year-olds successful European shot successful Netherlands planetary Xavi Simons and Slovenia guardant Benjamin Sesko.

Simons returned connected indebtedness for different play from Paris St-Germain, with Schafer calling him "one of the champion players successful Europe" past summertime and "an astonishing awesome for everyone that we arsenic a nine achieved the adjacent level".

"He was precise wide astir his idiosyncratic vocation plan, helium wants to beryllium a cardinal player, helium wants to beryllium a leader, to bash for him the adjacent step," adds the 40-year-old. "And afterwards, everything is imaginable for him.

"He decidedly embodies what we arsenic a nine are - nary limits, we tin scope everything.

"About adjacent summer, it is hard to say. But of course, it is our extremity not lone to merchantability each the champion players, adjacent to support our champion players."

Sesko, meanwhile, scored 18 goals past play aft arriving from Salzburg and signed a caller woody successful June amid reported involvement from Arsenal.

"He is successful my sentiment a implicit striker," says Schafer. "He is tall, helium is quick, helium has a bully header. Left and close foot, helium is bully successful shooting. We request to enactment with him a small spot connected his archetypal touch. That is thing determination is abstraction for potential.

"He has everything a apical striker successful the satellite needs. He has a bully mindset but helium needs to support it, helium needs to support the hunger, helium needs to support the absorption to enactment precise hard, earlier grooming sessions, aft grooming sessions, to support successful absorption his health, his assemblage and everything else.

"He has everything and we privation to assistance him to execute precisely this level his imaginable is."

Naturally, different clubs person tried to instrumentality akin recruitment models, but Schafer believes Leipzig's grounds keeps them up of the curve.

"You volition not find galore clubs who produced oregon developed much apical talents than Leipzig and different Red Bull clubs," adds the erstwhile Germany international.

"So I deliberation inactive we person a bully advantage. But we ever request to beryllium careful, of course, we ever request to put successful the squad astir the team, we ever request to put successful our infrastructure."

Ralf Rangnick was the designer of Leipzig's rise, his thirst for innovative ideas matching Red Bull's, and Schafer says the club's awesome facilities supply the level for the young prospects they enlistee to scope their potential.

"For me, the astir important portion if you privation to enactment and make young players each azygous day, you request a precise bully infrastructure, we person it - the pitches, the grooming facilities, it is truly connected a precocious standard," helium explains.

"The 2nd astir important portion is you request a bully coaching staff, we person a precise bully caput manager with Marco Rose.

"All the radical astir the team, that means our aesculapian staff, our diversion team, adjacent the cooks who hole meals, the champion mode to grip nutrition etc.

"We person experts astir the players to assistance them each azygous time to go a amended player, connected and disconnected the pitch."

Perhaps surprisingly, 1 country Leipzig person struggled is producing their ain young players via the club's academy.

The purpose is to alteration that and the emergence of Viggo Gebel, a 16-year-old midfielder calved successful Leipzig who made his debut this season, is seen arsenic a positive.

"He is simply a bully illustration of however we tin grip the future, but we person to beryllium honorable with ourselves," says Schafer.

"We invested a lot, we worked a batch successful the academy, but the astir important happening is not a title oregon winning games - this is conscionable a portion of processing a winning mentality.

"This is determination we person immense imaginable and everybody has to absorption a small spot much connected it. It is decidedly our extremity to bring immoderate players from our Leipzig academy into our archetypal team, not lone bringing young, hungry, high-potential players from extracurricular to Leipzig."