Johan Bakayoko discusses Jürgen Klopp’s role in recruiting him to RB Leipzig | OneFootball

In an interview with Kicker, summer RB Leipzig addition Johan Bakayoko has spoken on his decision to choose the German Red Bulls over Bundesliga Champions League representatives Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund. The 22-year-old made clear that, with the team performing well, there was absolutely no reason for him to regret his decision.

Bakayoko – along with fellow new RB summer acquisition Yan Diomande – immediately gelled under new RB head coach Ole Werner in training camp. The Belgian international has now featured in all six of Werner’s league starting XIs and scored two league goals; both game-winners in narrow 1-0 victories over Mainz 05 and VfL Wolfsburg.

Bakayoko received the chance – just as his club teammates Diomande and Ridle Baku – to express unbridled enthusiasm for the Leipzig project. Though the Saxons aren’t contesting Europe this year, Bakayoko maintains faith that the work of club sporting director Marcel Schäfer and new RB Head of Global Soccer Jürgen Klopp will yield the right results.

“I didn’t expect to settle in so easily,” Bakayoko said of his new home. “The club is so big. The facilities are fantastic. Everyone helped me settle in quickly. I think we’ve really gelled as a team. The chemistry within the team and the whole environment is right. It’s a good group. Everyone does their job meticulously and everyone is very close. The coach is also doing a great job and has clear ideas. It’s really nice to be part of the whole thing.

“The vision RB had for me was incredible,” Bakayoko went on to say. “The people in charge really had a clear plan for what they wanted to do with me and how they could help me. The talks with everyone here, the coach and Marcel Schäfer, were very positive. I could sense that they really wanted me. That’s why, of all the options I had, this one was the best for me.

“[Jürgen Klopp] and I talked for almost two hours,” Bakayoko continued. “He’s a legend, not only in football, but also as a person; he’s just great and charismatic. The conversation made it even easier for me to say that my decision was the right one. He didn’t try to persuade me outright. We talked about all sorts of things, including football and life

“He asked me what I wanted out of life, what I wanted to achieve as a football player, and how Leipzig could help me do that,” Bakayoko concluded. “We also talked about small details and how things would work. After that, it was clear to me that if someone has so much knowledge about something, they can really help you take the next step.”

GGFN | Peter Weis