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<\/p>\nInterview\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n \u00a9TM\/IMAGO\n <\/p>\n
It feels like Johan Bakayoko<\/a> has been linked with a transfer to one of Europe\u2019s top leagues ever since his stellar 2022\/23 breakout campaign with PSV Eindhoven<\/a>. That year, the Belgian winger scored five goals and contributed five assists in just 23 Eredivisie games. Then the following season, he scored 12 goals and contributed 9 assists in 33 league games. Big Premier League<\/a> clubs and half the Bundesliga was linked to the winger. After that first season, Bakayoko\u2019s market value exploded from \u20ac4m to \u20ac45m.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A transfer, however, didn\u2019t come, leading to his market value dropping to \u20ac30m. But as Bakayoko explains to Transfermarkt, staying put wasn\u2019t about a lack of offers but rather about finishing his previous project at PSV under head coach Peter Bosz. \u201cIt was about the right opportunity to leave,\u201d Bakayoko said. \u201cBecause last season, I could have also left. But the club also didn\u2019t want me to leave. It wasn\u2019t just my decision; I am part of a project and group that was PSV, and I had to stick to the plan that was laid out for me. I had a lot of talks with the coach, Peter Bosz, and he felt last season wasn\u2019t the right moment. The relationship with him made it difficult to leave, as you also don\u2019t want to disappoint the person. Because he helped me become a better player. So, I took his advice seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From a productivity standpoint, last season was the worst for Bakayoko at PSV. The forward scored just nine goals and produced only one assist in 30 Eredivisie games. The minutes also dropped as PSV came from behind to catch Ajax Amsterdam to win back-to-back Eredivisie titles. That lack of productivity was another reason for Bakayoko, who broke the record for the most valuable player in the Eredivisie, to see his market value drop by \u20ac15m from \u20ac45m to \u20ac30m over the last 18 months. Ultimately, RB Leipzig would finally sign the forward in a deal worth \u20ac18m plus \u20ac4m in add-ons. Perhaps Bosz and PSV would have received a bigger fee if they had sold Bakayoko a year earlier. But they were also rewarded by winning a second title. \u201cHe told me that we still had a championship to win, so after two, you can go, I will even help you to go if there\u2019s a need,\u201d Bakayoko said. So, I stuck to the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \nBakayoko to RB Leipzig \u2013 In contact for \u201cone and half years\u201d<\/p>\n Without a doubt, it is also a good deal for Leipzig. The Red Bulls had been interested for some time, and this summer finally got their player. \u201cFor one and a half years, my agent had great contacts with the people here,\u201d Bakayoko said when asked why he joined Leipzig over other clubs. \u201cThey always wanted me. For me, I saw the opportunity. It was difficult for me to leave PSV as they really wanted me to stay. This is a perfect club that wants me to grow and fulfill my potential.\u201d So why Leipzig? Could he have gone to the Premier League instead? \u201cI think it\u2019s difficult to say,\u201d Bakayoko said. \u201cIt was all very fluid. It\u2019s changed so many times, and you don\u2019t really know where you are going to end up. But already last season, I felt Leipzig was the right club for me. My main target was to join the Bundesliga. I was linked to many clubs in the Premier League, but I had to see whether it was the right project for me, the right moment.\u201d<\/p>\n One other major reason might be former Liverpool boss J\u00fcrgen Klopp<\/a>, who is now the head of global sports director at Red Bull. \u201cFor me, there was a decisive point,\u201d Bakayoko said when asked about Klopp\u2019s role. \u201cWhen I talked to him, it was quite good. The impression he left on me was that this project was really here for you. We\u2019re really here to make you better. We really need you. And that\u2019s what I want. So that was a perfect match.\u201d Added Bakayoko: \u201cIt was really about football. We didn\u2019t even talk about him wanting me to come. I was thinking that if someone talks to you in this kind of way, wants to build a project with you, and doesn’t push you to join, it gives you the freedom to express yourself\u2014that\u2019s everything I need.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The talks were also good with Leipzig\u2019s new head coach, Ole Werner. Werner joined RB Leipzig this summer from Werder Bremen and is supposed to guide the Red Bulls back to European football. \u201cHe is great,\u201d Bakayoko said. \u201cHe has the same mentality and hunger as a young player coming into a new team. So many coaches come in based on what they have already achieved and what they already know. He gives this hunger to all the players and has left a great impression.\u201d<\/p>\n \nVisualization and a tough start against Bayern \u2013 What sort of player is Bakayoko?<\/p>\n What sort of player is Bakayoko? A quick and strong winger, who predominantly plays on the right but can also be utilized on the left and even as a no.10, Bakayoko has said in past interviews that he uses visualization to improve his game. \u201cI visualize what I could have done better in the last game,\u201d Bakayoko said when asked about using visualization as part of his pregame preparation. \u201cIt is also a way to see new solutions in my game, to find out what I can improve, what I am lacking. It can be everything, from my decision-making, shooting, passing, and one-on-one situations. I just try to visualize and perfect it.\u201d<\/p>\n And what motivates him? \u201cFor me, that\u2019s simple,\u201d Bakayoko said. \u201cIt\u2019s to get better and help the team to get better and to win things. To have a target and for everyone around you to have the same target. That\u2019s what motivates me.\u201d After weeks of preseason and a difficult 4-2<\/a> win over fourth division side SV Sandhausen in the first round of the DFB Pokal, Bakayoko is now ready to take the pitch in the Bundesliga. First up, record Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich<\/a>. \u201cI feel excited,\u201d Bakayoko said. \u201cI\u2019m used to big games. But that\u2019s a completely different environment, a completely different start. They are one of the biggest teams in Europe that you can play against from the start.<\/p>\n