Its no secret that RB Salzburg belongs to the clubs which develop the best talents in Europe. And it is also no secret that most of them move to RB Leipzig at one point. Due to the history of Red Bull ownership, both teams are closely connected.
During the transfer period in January one of the most promising talents of Salzburg, Amadou Haidara moved to Leipzig and recently scored his first goal in the Bundesliga. Hannes Wolf will follow in the summer and maybe also Xaver Schlager. Or is he the exception?
Nevertheless, the blond midfielder of Salzburg belongs to the most promising talent production lines in European football. However, his lack of consistency could lead to a fairly low buying price. It could present a chance to land a real steal, because Schlager is incredibly talented. In this piece, I will show you why more teams should take a close look at the Austrian midfielder.
The attacking weapon
In Marco Roses diamond at RB Salzburg, Xaver Schlager usually plays in either the left or right central midfielder position. From this position, he supports the attack, participates in combination play and helps Salzburg to stay compact when opponents are in possession.
In this role, Salzburg can make use of Schlager. The Austrian international has a unique skill set. Not only is he a good passer, but he has also the necessary IQ and the dribbling skills to keep possession under pressure and break down the opponents defensive lines easily.
In particular, his football IQ is constantly visible. It is rarely observable that he makes a bad decision, plays a stupid pass or overlooks a teammate. Due to his technical abilities, he is capable of either playing simple passes under pressure, using long balls to take advantage of holes in the defence or finding his teammates with well-timed through-balls.
At Salzburg, he often acts out of a deeper role in possession. His vision and ability to switch is really important in these situations.
Take the above example. Schlager gets pressured by the Wolfsburg player but recognises the free man on the left side. Wolfsburg were quite compact close to the ball but underloaded on the far side. With the intelligent switch of play by Schlager, Salzburg can attack down the left side where they have a 3v2 situation.
The passes of the Austrian midfielder are often precise and allow the receiver to instantly continue the action. As a consequence, Salzburg dont lose the speed or dynamics of their move, and the opponents have less time to adjust.
