RB Leipzig "lost" some of their DNA last season, according to their sporting director Marcel Schäfer, but with the help of Jürgen Klopp, decided to go back to basics over the summer and signed, young, promising talents as they seek a return to European football.
Leipzig went through a large-scale overhaul in the summer. They saw players like Benjamin Sesko, Xavi Simons, Mohamed Simakan, Loïs Openda, Yussuf Poulsen, André Silva and Eljif Elmas all leave, and in their place, they signed Conrad Harder, Arthur Vermeeren, Rômulo, Yan Diomande, Johan Bakayoko, Ezechiel Banzuzi and Andrija Maksimovic -- all under the age of 23. They also brought in a new manager in Ole Werner, who is just 37 years old.
This was all part of Schäfer's plan for Leipzig after a season where they finished seventh in the Bundesliga, and out of the European spots.
Klopp took on the job as Red Bull's head of global soccer at the start of the year and has been aiding the rebuild process at the German side. When Schäfer was asked about Klopp's level of involvement, Schäfer said: "[Klopp] is responsible for all the teams, for the playing identity, for the playing philosophy."
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The ex-Liverpool manager is also heavily involved in the recruitment process, and meets the players to help persuade them to join Leipzig. He greeted the new signings over the summer as Leipzig went through their rebuilding process.
"To be honest, maybe we lost a little bit of our DNA [last season]," Schäfer said. "So the profile we looked for was definitely young, hungry and high potential. We're looking for a team who plays high intensity with the ball, but especially a high intensity against the ball. And of course, you need some skills for that, you need profiles, you need the right mentality for that. That for us was the main target. We want to see Red Bull soccer."
Leipzig are targeting the world's best young players, but face competition from their Bundesliga rivals like Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in securing their signature.
"The competition is hard," Schäfer said. "Five to six years ago, there were just a few clubs who really focused on young, hungry, high-potential players and developed them. Now, even the top teams in England, they try to sign the best talents in the world and the best talent in Europe."
One of those promising talents who grew at Leipzig was Simons. He completed a €60 million ($70.6m) move to Tottenham Hotspur in late August and has since made his debut in the Premier League.
"Xavi is an outstanding player, a player who can decide games on his own, who is still young," Schäfer said. "We had a loan, we signed him for an amount which was a new level for the club. We sold him for more money. So of course, in my opinion, it was a successful story. And even so we struggled last year. I mean, he had already, or almost 20 [goals and assists], and he was out for three and a half months. For me, that is outstanding for a young guy.
"He was always honest. He was always very clear about his wish [to] maybe leave in the summer if there was a certain offer for him. There was a certain offer from Tottenham, they play Champions League and we created that win-win situation for everyone. Xavi here was a great guy, a great player and it was great to have him here for two years."