Jurgen Klopp's Red Bull role highlighted after plan u-turn and major transfer change

Jurgen Klopp is being credited with giving RB Leipzig their DNA back after their sporting director Marcel Schafer concedes they had "lost" their way. The German club have always had a business model that prioritised young players and they made an effort to nail their recruitment in the summer.

Klopp took on the job as Red Bull's head of global soccer back in October last year - which was his first role since leaving Liverpool - and takes on a leadership role regarding all of the teams who operate under their umbrella.

Leipzig are the most successful of those with Red Bull Salzburg, another of their outfits. The likes of Erling Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai were both identified by their scouts and Schafer made it clear that Klopp is the man making the major calls and convincing players to join.

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He said: "[Klopp] is responsible for all the teams, for the playing identity, for the playing philosophy."

Schafer also added: "To be honest, maybe we lost a little bit of our DNA [last season]. 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."

In the summer Leipzig lost some of their major names - which again has always been common practice. The German outfit have often signed young players and allowed them to move on for major profits later down the line - Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons clear examples.

They've since signed a host of players aged 23 or under with Conrad Harder, Arthur Vermeeren, Rômulo, Yan Diomande, Johan Bakayoko, Ezechiel Banzuzi and Andrija Maksimovic all moving to the Red Bull Arena.

Leipzig missed out on the Champions League last season, hitting the revenue, which was also a motivating factor in selling some of their stellar names. Their sporting director concedes that their business model is being challenged by the number of clubs now pursuing young players.

"The competition is hard," he 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."

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