Sport Bild reports Red Bull want to change the focus of RB Leipzig away from a club that sells players into one that wins the Bundesliga.
The Saxony side have been successful when it comes to selling players in the past with Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai, Timo Werner, Christopher Nkunku and Dani Olmo all commanding large fees in the past, but now Leipzig wants to fight Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga.
The aim is to have top European calibre players in each position in the squad and Leipzig will try to keep their current crop of players at the club for even longer. It is hoped that Castello Lukeba, Loïs Openda and Benjamin Seško could all be convinced to stay at the club if Leipzig can truly challenge for the Bundesliga.
This process has already begun with Leipzig looking to offer contract extensions to squad players with talks beginning with Xaver Schlager to extend his contract instead of being sold. The Austrian, when fit, is one of the key players in Leipzig’s midfield and is integral to how they play.
Leipzig will also plan to keep Xavi Simons at the club, permanently. It is said the Dutch international would be happy to stay at the Red Bull Arena if it was a permanent transfer. Leipzig would not be able to afford the €80m price tag that Simons’ parent club PSG is demanding but other arrangements could be made.
As Red Bull backs Leipzig, they can afford to now be this ruthless with their squad-building strategy as the energy drink company can provide the necessary funds and right off any debts, compare that to a team such as Borussia Dortmund who tried to match Bayern 20 years ago and nearly went bust.
This change in strategy will also likely help explain the recent hiring of Jürgen Klopp as Global Head of Soccer, as the former Liverpool and Dortmund manager is a proven winner.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
