January 2025 Transfer Primer: RB Leipzig | OneFootball

RasenBallSport Leipzig

Estimated Autumn Transfer Balance = +€34 million

One expects quite a bit of transfer activity from the German Red Bulls following a wholly unsatisfying start to the season. Setting aside both the Champions' League debacles and the success in the German cup, the current league points total (27) constitutes the team's worst league position since the dreaded Jesse Marsch Era back in 2021. The club cannot fall back on the usual excuse that too many of its quality players have been poached as the core group of Loïs Openda, Benjamin Sesko, Christoph Castello Lukeba, and even Xavi Simons are actually in their second season playing together.

That being noted, anyone observing this club can attribute much of the substandard play to the loss of "ultimate playmaker" and near "perfect ten" Dani Olmo. The fact that Rose had to cope with the long-term absences losses of Simons, David Raum, Castello Lukeba, and Yussuf Poulsen all around the same time  didn't help matters either. The 1-5 home humiliation against Wolfsburg on match-day 12 could have well served as Rose's penultimate match had the team not recovered and knocked Frankfurt out of the Pokal four days later.

Money truly isn't an issue for this corporate club. Accordingly, big money names are surely on their way to the Red Bull Arena this Winter. Former Eintracht Frankfurt star Randal Kolo Muani and Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza are among the names linked with a move to Saxony. Former breakout Heidenheim star Jan-Niklas Beste could fill the team's need for a creative attacking midfielder. RB sporting director Marcel Schäfer appears proactively prepared to compensate for the loss of Benjamin Henrichs by plucking a RB Salzburg player off his predecessor Rouven Schröder.

Dead-Weight Ledger = Eljif Elmas (ATTM), Vigo Gebel (ATTM), André Silva (LS)

Even if the "MarketingKlub" gives Schäfer effective free-reign to tender oversized offers for new players, some financial prudence on the payroll is necessary. Transfer flops André Silva and Eljif Elmas at the very least need to be loaned out. Schäfer apparently already has a destination in mind for Silva. The latest on Elmas - per the local Leipziger Volkszeitung - has the North Macedonian international potentially returning south to the Serie A. El Chadaille Bitshiabu would have been a fabulous candidate to park were it not for Lukeba's injury.

Expiring contracts = None

Excluding the short-term contract awarded to 16-year-old attacking midfielder Faik Sakar, everyone on the roster is tied down through 2026. Schröder happened to do a decent job in this regard. The manner in which Schäfer's predecessor handled the Lukas Klostermann situation last Winter was exemplary. Schröder's recruitment of players (notably his former Schalke pro Assan Ouedraogo) also stood out. After earning less than stellar reviews for his stints at Mainz and Schalke, German football watchers should at least accord Salzburg's new manager some credit for his work at the German RB.

Further Needs =  CB, RB, DM, ATTM, CF

Most of the rumors surrounding bigger names are already addressed above. The trail leading to Union Berlin center back Diogo Leite has long since gone cold, but the fact that the Portuguese youth international fits so perfectly with Schäfer's needs leads to his inclusion here. Overall, the new RB personnel chief needs a solid window on both the arrival and departure front here. Sporting CEO Oliver Mintzlaff seems to not have the stomach to sack either his prize pry-away from Wolfsburg or native-son Rose at the moment. That could change.

Rumored Links = Diogo Leite (CB), Amar Dedic (RB), Abdukodir Khusanov (CB), Oscar Mingueza (RB), Randal Kolo Muani (CF)