Salzburg’s youngsters are about to reach the last sixteen of the Champions League for the first time. When it comes to transfers, they are already at the forefront: With Ajax Amsterdam and Benfica Lisbon, only two current CL teams have higher transfer revenues in the past five seasons. Christoph Freund finds the soaring remarkable: “You can’t plan that it will fly away like this,” said the sports director before Tuesday’s duel with Wolfsburg. “We never left our path. Now we are harvesting! “
Salzburg recorded an increase of around 218 million euros (according to transfermarkt.at) including summer 2017/18 in its transfers. Only Benfica (355) and Ajax (242) have higher values. Another four of the 32 clubs fall into the 100 million plus category: Borussia Dortmund (189), Salzburg’s group opponent Lille (164), FC Porto (160) and Sporting Lisbon (143). Noticeable with the “bulls”: season after season they are in the plus without interruption. This was ensured by Patson Daka, Enock Mwepu, Dominik Szboszlai, Erling Haaland, Amadou Haidara and Duje Caleta-Car, all of whom brought in at least around 20 million euros. Freund described these sums as “benchmarks. We have advanced in dimensions that were previously unimaginable in Austria. We have consistently made really good transfers. This is something special with this frequency and constancy. This is also very much due to the fact that we never left our path. Now we are harvesting ”.
The fact that one succeeds with a very young group and a no less youthful trainer – Matthias Jaissle is 33 – is not a matter of course for the “mastermind” friend, who has held the office since 2015. “With such a change and with the youngest team we’ve ever had, it’s really special,” said the 44-year-old. Younger than the 1-1 draw at Sevilla FC at the start of this year’s group stage (average age 22.6 years) was only one of Arsenal’s starting eleven (21.6) in the 2009/10 season.
No “printing press with which we print new players”
But the whole thing is not a sure-fire success, stressed Freund. “From the outside it looks like we have a printing press that we use to print new players. But there are many important and often courageous decisions two or three years in advance, ”he said. “We always try to adapt to situations that may arise. But of course there could also be phases where the transition does not work so optimally, the current level is extremely high. “
What is striking is the great transfer success with African kickers. Finally, Red Bull ended its academy engagement in Ghana in 2013 due to a lack of results. But the cooperation with the various local academies continues to be intensive. “It sure works better now and at an extremely high level. We now have a lot of great players and a high success rate, ”said Freund. “We have invested a lot of time and energy in making these good contacts. And it helped that we had our own academy. “
In order for the leap to Europe to be successful – with a few exceptions, non-EU foreigners may only be obliged from the age of 18 – not only intensive preliminary observation is necessary. “We offer them – like the other players – the best possible environment, we try to support them in all areas of life. To this end, we have set up a great integration network in the club, ”said Freund, explaining the approach.
“The academy is a very important pillar”
Of course, this did not diminish the role of the academy’s own academy. “It’s the mix that makes it all. It is extremely important to us that our own boys from the academy, such as currently Nicolas Seiwald from Kuchl, Luka Sucic or Junior Adamu, who have gone through all levels, take on leading roles. The academy is a very important pillar, the cooperation is extremely close and good. ”This is particularly noticeable because the transition from the so-called Liefering cooperation club to the Salzburg A-set is mostly for the best of the“ farm team ”thanks to the consistency of the environment and play system works smoothly. See Roko Simic (18), Maurits Kjaergaard (18), Bryan Okoh (18) or Mamady Diambou (18), who are already collecting gaming experience this year.
It can be assumed that the current successes or a possible round of 16 in the CL could further increase the future transfer revenues. “Sure they will rise the further we go. You only have to look at what Ajax has made for transfers after reaching the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, ”said Freund. At that time, the Dutch, who have always been considered a springboard for talent, sold Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs de Ligt to FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin for around EUR 85 million each.
Rain of money thanks to Adeyemi
Such sums are not to be expected on the Salzburg account in the coming summer. But the departure of young star Karim Adeyemi should once again fall into the category of 20 million or more. The 19-year-old German A team player should not have a release clause. From the Salzburg point of view, contractual reservations in this regard are generally “not a big issue, it is not the rule,” as Freund said. “But it cannot always be avoided, as was the case with Erling Haaland.”