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Red Bull Salzburg supporters are starting to read the tea leaves to see which players will be back and which are destined to move on. RBS has quite a stack of academy players and an astounding seven of them will be eligible to be promoted to the main squad. That’s a lot of potential changes for a squad that is mired in the bottom of the lower division.
At the same time, Salzburg could be said to be a young club. Only a few of the players are starting the long decline to retirement. The oldest players will be 31 next season. So I is likely to stay and who is likely to go. Here’s a snapshot by position of likely moves.
Keeper: Nothing is going to change here next season. Atubolu is maturing into a 1st tier keeper. The two backups are solid. The only suspense here is the Academy keeper Givens. He may be Atubolu’s replacement, he may stay in the academy, or he may be destined for the transfer list to raise Salzburg’s bank account. Who knows what Dave Thacker is thinking about will he talks to the board? The only think certain is that Givens will graduate the season after next. Controversy? Stay Tuned.
Defender: The clubs defense has been solid if not spectacular. Salzburg is currently tied for 5th in Goals allowed. Most defensive lapses has been caused by manager bungling. The top five Dfs in skill have logged thousand of minutes the last two seasons some player’s skills show the additional experience. There are two academy lads that could home up, but they aren’t necessarily going to be and improvement over the current starters. One scenario show says that two of the seven current enforcers could be saying goodbye, another possibility is that everybody stays put for another season and academy lads get stronger. The truth is probably somewhere between the two.
Midfielders: This group is the most likely to have some turnover, but maybe not next season. There are two academy lads that could be brought up and only likely retirement. Some supporters think the roster is overbalanced towards midfielders and the retirement should be replaced on another striker, but you’ll here more about that later. The board may allow Thacker to keep the 20 year-olds in training and debut a brand new group in the season after next. Or they might pull both of them up and take their chances. There are three midfielders that have not appeared this season, and if they are going away at EOS, they may not see the pitch at all.
Forwards: Expect some churn here, but not with the top three. Nuss will likely retire, and he’ll need to be replaced by an academy player or the transfer portal. The problem is that the best academy forward needs more time, while the other one is a chronic under-achiever and is destined to ride the bench if brought up. Expect a forward should be one of the transfer targets for Salzburg. There are plenty on minutes there for the right player.
The supporters always lead towards youth, but if the board shows patience, there could be total transformation at the end of the next season. Revenue is king, and being at the bottom gets you very little coin. It will be an interesting time next EOS.
Words: 565
At the same time, Salzburg could be said to be a young club. Only a few of the players are starting the long decline to retirement. The oldest players will be 31 next season. So I is likely to stay and who is likely to go. Here’s a snapshot by position of likely moves.
Keeper: Nothing is going to change here next season. Atubolu is maturing into a 1st tier keeper. The two backups are solid. The only suspense here is the Academy keeper Givens. He may be Atubolu’s replacement, he may stay in the academy, or he may be destined for the transfer list to raise Salzburg’s bank account. Who knows what Dave Thacker is thinking about will he talks to the board? The only think certain is that Givens will graduate the season after next. Controversy? Stay Tuned.
Defender: The clubs defense has been solid if not spectacular. Salzburg is currently tied for 5th in Goals allowed. Most defensive lapses has been caused by manager bungling. The top five Dfs in skill have logged thousand of minutes the last two seasons some player’s skills show the additional experience. There are two academy lads that could home up, but they aren’t necessarily going to be and improvement over the current starters. One scenario show says that two of the seven current enforcers could be saying goodbye, another possibility is that everybody stays put for another season and academy lads get stronger. The truth is probably somewhere between the two.
Midfielders: This group is the most likely to have some turnover, but maybe not next season. There are two academy lads that could be brought up and only likely retirement. Some supporters think the roster is overbalanced towards midfielders and the retirement should be replaced on another striker, but you’ll here more about that later. The board may allow Thacker to keep the 20 year-olds in training and debut a brand new group in the season after next. Or they might pull both of them up and take their chances. There are three midfielders that have not appeared this season, and if they are going away at EOS, they may not see the pitch at all.
Forwards: Expect some churn here, but not with the top three. Nuss will likely retire, and he’ll need to be replaced by an academy player or the transfer portal. The problem is that the best academy forward needs more time, while the other one is a chronic under-achiever and is destined to ride the bench if brought up. Expect a forward should be one of the transfer targets for Salzburg. There are plenty on minutes there for the right player.
The supporters always lead towards youth, but if the board shows patience, there could be total transformation at the end of the next season. Revenue is king, and being at the bottom gets you very little coin. It will be an interesting time next EOS.
Words: 565