Everything you need to know about RB Leipzig

Remarkably, the team’s spine has remained intact since those lower-league days, which is testament to the other tenet of RB Leipzig: buy young, hungry players who are receptive to coaching. Striker Yussuf Poulsen, right-back Lukas Klostermann, midfield dynamo Marcel Sabitzer, club captain Willi Orban and Marcel Halstenberg all arrived over five years ago and are still regulars. One player, however, slipped through the net. The 25-year-old had just scored
31 goals in 36 games in the Conference Premier for Fleetwood Town, but was deemed too old.

“At some point, every manager in the world has said no to someone who turned out to be a top player,” Rangnick later recalled. “Mine was Jamie Vardy.” Others, like Timo Werner and Naby Keita, improved to such an extent that multi-million Euro departures became inevitable. Centre-back Dayot Upamecano and attacking midfielder Dani Olmo, both 22 and under, could be the next high-profile exits.