Leipzig's next-level attacking talent

Known as a club that has helped to develop some of the best youth talent all over the pitch, and especially in attack, Die Roten Bullen could boast an all-star cast of forward thinking players that currently decorate the game across Europe. 

With the likes of the most recent RBL stars such as Benjamin Šeško and Xavi Simons currently featuring in England's Premier League, or Loïs Openda freshly landed at Juventus, the list of attacking quality to have passed through Leipzig's footballing talent factory is a long one.

Those currently producing the goods on the Red Bull Arena front-line include the likes of Johan Bakayoko, Rômulo, Yan Diomande and Conrad Harder - all of whom were signed in the summer. The 20-year-old Antonio Nusa, meanwhile, is beginning to make waves again after a season troubled by injury.     

Watch: Johan Bakayoko in focus

"We really focus on young players; on their development," Leipzig's managing director for sport, Marcel Schäfer, said in September, in quotes appearing on Sky Sports Germany. "We signed absolutely outstanding talents ... young, hungry, high-potential players," the club official continued. 

With recent arrivals beginning to tick in Leipzig's run of four successive Bundesliga victories, hopes are high that the next Timo Werner or Christopher Nkunku are in the process of being unearthed in front of the eyes of the passionate fans at the Saxony-based side.  

Belgium international Bakayoko, in particular, has taken next to no time to gel in a new project being overseen on the pitch by recently-appointed coach Ole Werner. The 22-year-old attacker - signed from PSV Eindhoven - has scored the wining goals in Leipzig's last two games, with his latest strike against Wolfsburg marking his team's 600th goal in the Bundesliga. 

Watch: Leipzig 2-0 Heidenheim - highlights

"We’re a young team, [Werner] is a young coach – it’s a perfect fit,” the 22-year-old said of Leipzig's current upward trend. 

His form having earned him a Bundesliga Rookie of the Month nominee for September, Bakayoko has been thrilled with how he has been received at his new club from the moment of his arrival in Germany. "Since I came to Leipzig it’s been incredible," he explained. "Everyone has been so friendly, and from the staff to the players the quality is very high – you can see that on the pitch. We’re a real unit, and I like that a lot."

Schäfer explains that how young players are encouraged and generally made to feel is crucial to enticing them to play for Leipzig in the first place. With Jürgen Klopp now on board as Red Bull's head of global soccer, it can only help the process. "If we are convincing a player, we try to give them the full Red Bull energy, the full Red Bull power, in person," Schäfer said. "With Johan, it helped a lot, of course, that Jürgen had a conversation with him.

"Our aim is to have a team that totally identifies with our club and our ambitions," RBL's managing director for sport continued. "We want a tight-knit group and we want to stand for togetherness and resilience. RB Leipzig have developed an exceptional reputation over many years and we have shown on countless occasions what we can offer players."

Diomande - signed from Spanish side Leganés - is another young diamond beginning to shine on Leipzig's watch. The 18-year-old Ivorian was on target three times for Die Roten Bullen in pre-season and got off the mark with his first official goal in the first round of the DFB Cup. 

“This has been my dream since I was a kid, and I’m proud to be playing for RB Leipzig,” Diomande said, while adding that having fellow French speakers like Castello Lukeba and El Chadaille Bitshiabu have helped him to settle. “They’ve been there for me on and off the pitch, and we’ve had lots of good conversations," Diomande said. "The whole club has a really close-knit, family feel, that’s something special,” the attacker added. 

Watch: Leipzig hit Bundesliga goal No. 600 in Wolfsburg

In Danish forward Harder, Leipzig have another Scandinavian in attack to follow in the footsteps of compatriot and current Hamburg player Yussuf Poulsen and Swedish club legend Emil Forsberg, who is now at sister club New York Red Bulls. A league and cup double winner at former side Sporting CP in Portugal, the 20-year-old Harder has yet to get off the mark in the Bundesliga, but appears ever closer to doing so. 

The Dane faces welcome competition up front from Brazilian Rômulo, who was snapped up from Turkish side Göztepe and has already found the net twice and boasts three goal involvements in his first four games in Germany's top tier.

"It's my time now – I want to have a really good season here," the ex-Athletico Paranaense striker said with confidence recently. And who would doubt the 23-year-old, playing for a club where household attacking names like current Barcelona schemer Dani Olmo were once allowed to shine.  

Leipzig will next bring their attacking contingent to Borussia Dortmund in what is set to be a spectacular encounter between second and third in the Bundesliga.

The 20-year-old Norwegian flyer Nusa summed things up perfectly for the travelling contingent this Saturday when saying, "As a kid, you dream of playing in these kinds of games at places like this; it will be a close match. Both teams are in great form. I can't wait."

And neither can the watching world, who are eager to see Leipzig's newest attacking talents take centre stage.