Red Bull Salzburg Recruitment Analysis 2025/2026: Restoring Austrian Dominance – Team Analysis

Red Bull Salzburg are currently enjoying the welcome distraction of the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup, which comes off the back end of another disappointing season for the club in domestic and European competitions.

For the first time since the Red Bull takeover in 2005, Salzburg have gone back-to-back years without winning an Austrian Bundesliga title, with Sturm Graz retaining the crown they won last year.

Not only that, but a disappointing UEFA Champions League campaign, which saw them finish 34th in the league phase, also resulted in them going back-to-back years without spring European football for the first time since 2016 and 2017.

The club has been barren on the pitch over the last couple of seasons, with three different managers in the dugout since the departure of young, talented head coach Matthias Jaissle to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia.

Gerhard Struber and Jürgen Klopps former Liverpool assistant (now at Manchester City) Pepijn Lijnders have held the position since then, both moved on following poor results, with Thomas Letsch replacing the latter last December.

Although the season wasnt a success, Letschs contract still runs until summer 2027.

As he leads the club into the Club World Cup in the United States, he is expected to stay on next season and get a full season to try to turn the teams fortunes around.

Next season, the aim will be to re-establish their domestic superiority by winning the Austrian championship and offering a decent showing in Europe.

This recruitment and team analysis will examine the current Salzburg squad going into the 2025/2026 campaign, some of their core problems from the recent season, and potential signings that can help them get back to where they want to be.

Red Bull Salzburg Squad 2025/2026: As It Stands

As it stands, goalkeeper Janis Blaswich and centre-back Maximiliano Caufriez will no longer be in the Red Bull Salzburg side.

Following the expiry of their loan spells, they will return to RB Leipzig and Clermont Foot, respectively.

Left-back Daouda Guindo and central midfielder Samson Tijani are also not there as their contracts werent renewed.

Before we discuss what Salzburg needs to look for in the transfer window, lets break down this current squad position-by-position and assess their overall quality and depth in each area of the pitch.

Currently, Salzburg have four first-team goalkeepers on their books.

Following a loan spell at Lyngby in Denmark, where he only registered four appearances, Jonas Krumrey has returned to join the squad at the Club World Cup following Blaswichs departure and Alexander Schlagers hand injury, which currently has him sidelined.

Besides Schlager, who is 29, their other opt