RED BULL AND THE ART OF SCOUTING

 

RED BULL AND THE ART OF SCOUTING

As RB Leipzig announced the signing of Norwegian signing Alexander Sorloth yesterday in a complex deal which would see both Crystal Palace and Turkish club Trabzonspor be equal benefactors of the £18 million transfer fee, there was general applause across social media regarding the signing.

Alexander Sorloth

Sorloth is likely to lead the line for Julian Nagelsmann's side following the departure of star forward Timo Werner, but it would be to be unfair to assume that Sorloth would replicate the 34-goals season that Werner enjoyed last time around.

Nagelsmann and the RB Leipzig hierarchy was acutely aware of this fact, and spent another £8 million to acquire sister club Red Bull Salzburg's South Korean international Hwang Hee-chan. The message was clear: Goals will have to be spread around the squad, rather than concentrated and funnelled through one player.

Hwang Hee-chan's transfer once again highlighted the network that the Red Bull's footballing group has across the world. It is no surprise that the current hub of talent seems to have been coagulated mainly in Austria with Salzburg. The club, which sold Sadio Mane to Southampton for £21 million, is now dealing with the biggest names in football.

Last season they had a forward line of Hwang Hee-chan, Takumi Minamino and a certain Erling Braut Haaland. Cut to January, and Haaland is off to Borussia Dortmund and Minamino to Liverpool. Gone are the days when clubs like Southampton could forage into Austria and have their pick of talents; the Red Bull talent identification has reached a point where smart clubs are now circling around Austria; the next Haaland, if Red Bull are to be believed, is never far away.

Squad building is an art; especially for modest clubs with a limited budget, being crafty in the market is necessary. It is easy for Manchester United to digest the £60 million loss that was Angel Di Maria, or for Chelsea to accept that their £71.6 million investment in Kepa Arrizabalaga did not go as planned; Red Bull's footballing conglomerate does not operate that way.

RB Leipzig finished third last season, in Nagelsmann's first season at the club. More importantly, they enjoyed a semi-final run in the Champions League, beating Atletico Madrid on their way. Leipzig have a carefully constructed squad; their record arrival was Naby Keita, who cost the club £27 million from Red Bull Salzburg; the Guinean also happens to be their record departure, with Liverpool paying £54 million for his services in 2018.

That's a fine return for a player who spent just two seasons in Germany; albeit in those two seasons Keita made his name as one of the best young midfielders in world football. His Liverpool career requires a different commentary; but this a prime example of how business is conducted by German club.

Buying young seems to be the raison d'etre of the club; Sorloth, their recent signing, is 24, and yet to reach his peak. They only have seven players aged 26 and above; their starting goalkeeper, Peter Gulacsi, is the oldest, at 30. The impetus regarding transfers is clearly placed on the other end of the age spectrum; young, talented individuals yet to hit peak performance levels who can be moulded into a more polished version centred around their talents.

Christoper Nkunku is one such player. A product of the famed Paris Saint-Germain academy, Nkunku started as centrally, operating in the midfield zones for the Parisiens. RB Leipzig paid £11.7 million for him in 2019, and Nagelsmann played him predominantly on the left-wing or in a more advanced midfield position. The 22-year old was a key player last season; managing 13 assists in 32 Bundesliga appearances.

Nkunku is not an outlier; RB Leipzig follow a youth-oriented transfer policy. Defenders Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate, Lukas Klostermann and Nordi Mukiele, midfielders Tyler Adams, Amadou Haidara and Konrad Laimer as well as their assortment of forwards including Sorloth, Hee-chan and Dani Olmo are all players who could be sold on for a big profit two or three years down the line.

Out of the above-mentioned players, Upamecano and Haidara arrived from Red Bull Salzburg, while Tyler Adams was picked up from New York Red Bulls; a wider and more comprehensive network is at play here.

Red Bull Salzburg, for all intents and purposes, are the crown jewel of the entire project. The development, rise and subsequent sale of Haaland has made people sit up and take notice of them; the realisation that they played a role in the development of players like Upamecano, Mane and Keita has burned the point home.

Under the coaching of American Jesse Marsch (who has also coached New York Red Bulls), Red Bull Salzburg have developed a fascinating style of play. Focussed heavily on attack, a common theme across all the clubs in the network, the current star player is Zambian striker Patson Daka, who has replaced Haaland up front and has been in fine goalscoring form for the club; so much so that a move to Liverpool has been touted in recent months.

There is incentive here for Marsch as well; his predecessor, Marco Rose, moved to Borussia Monchengladbach in 2019, where he has done a phenomenal job; surely big clubs are keeping an eye on him and his assistant, Rene Maric.

Patson Daka is an evidence of Red Bull's extensive scouting program, especially in Africa. While Keita and Mane have go on to make a name for themselves, Daka, alongside fellow Zambian and Red Bull Salzburg vice-captain Enock Mwepu, as well as the likes of Malian midfielder Mohamed Camara and Ghana international Majeed Ashimeru, could be next in line. Hoffenheim midfielder Diadie Samassekou comes to mind as well; he is a Mali international bought from the Austrian club.

Acquiring players from areas many big clubs would not be willing to gamble on has proved to an excellent modus operandi. Players get to play in a competitive league at a young age; performing well results, usually, in a move to Germany which often proves to be the ticket to stardom.

In recent months, two important figures decided to leave the giant network. Ralf Rangnick, the footballing genius who is credited with building the Red Bull model, resigned in July from his position as the head of sport and development; Rangnick also coached RB Leipzig on two separate occasions. Paul Mitchell, the renowned director of football, also decided to leave, with AS Monaco his next destination.

The show, however, continues to go on. Nagelsmann is arguably Leipzig's most valuable asset, but it seems unlikely that the young German will be there for the long run. Amid news that Red Bull were interested in investing in an English club, their scouting system continues to expand. They now have clubs in Ghana, Brazil and Germany, Austria and the United States, with Oliver Mintzlaff the Head of Global Operations.

There has been intense criticism regarding the operation of these clubs; RB Leipzig are, by no means, a favourite among German football fans. However, there is an admiration regarding the way their scouting and overall operations are conducted, while young players are now deviating towards the clubs as they provide a safe space to develop and earn a big move.