New RB Leipzig star Johan Bakayoko on Jürgen Klopp and turning down Premier League interest

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It feels like Johan Bakayoko has been linked with a transfer to one of Europe’s top leagues ever since his stellar 2022/23 breakout campaign with PSV Eindhoven. 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 clubs and half the Bundesliga was linked to the winger. After that first season, Bakayoko’s market value exploded from €4m to €45m.

A transfer, however, didn’t come, leading to his market value dropping to €30m. But as Bakayoko explains to Transfermarkt, staying put wasn’t about a lack of offers but rather about finishing his previous project at PSV under head coach Peter Bosz. “It was about the right opportunity to leave,” Bakayoko said. “Because last season, I could have also left. But the club also didn’t want me to leave. It wasn’t 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’t the right moment. The relationship with him made it difficult to leave, as you also don’t want to disappoint the person. Because he helped me become a better player. So, I took his advice seriously.”

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 €15m from €45m to €30m over the last 18 months. Ultimately, RB Leipzig would finally sign the forward in a deal worth €18m plus €4m 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. “He 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’s a need,” Bakayoko said. So, I stuck to the plan.”

Bakayoko to RB Leipzig – In contact for “one and half years”

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. “For one and a half years, my agent had great contacts with the people here,” Bakayoko said when asked why he joined Leipzig over other clubs. “They 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.” So why Leipzig? Could he have gone to the Premier League instead? “I think it’s difficult to say,” Bakayoko said. “It was all very fluid. It’s changed so many times, and you don’t 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.”

One other major reason might be former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp, who is now the head of global sports director at Red Bull. “For me, there was a decisive point,” Bakayoko said when asked about Klopp’s role. “When I talked to him, it was quite good. The impression he left on me was that this project was really here for you. We’re really here to make you better. We really need you. And that’s what I want. So that was a perfect match.” Added Bakayoko: “It was really about football. We didn’t 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—that’s everything I need.”

The talks were also good with Leipzig’s 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. “He is great,” Bakayoko said. “He 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.”

Visualization and a tough start against Bayern – What sort of player is Bakayoko?

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. “I visualize what I could have done better in the last game,” Bakayoko said when asked about using visualization as part of his pregame preparation. “It 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.”

And what motivates him? “For me, that’s simple,” Bakayoko said. “It’s 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’s what motivates me.” After weeks of preseason and a difficult 4-2 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. “I feel excited,” Bakayoko said. “I’m used to big games. But that’s 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.

Although the football is finally underway, there are still some other question marks. One major topic at Leipzig remains the future of star playmaker Xavi Simons. As things stand, Simons will be playing against Bayern Munich on Friday. That’s not a problem for Bakayoko or any of his other teammates. “I played with him two years ago [at PSV] and it was the same,” Bakayoko said. “He was also linked to every single club in the world, like me and a lot of other good players; that’s just part of the game. Sometimes you want to make moves, and sometimes you can’t make them. When you perform, you are in demand, and then you can consider your options or not. Xavi is very professional. Everyone knows his qualities at this point. I think players can learn from him. I try to put myself into that position, as I have also been there, and it isn’t easy when everyone talks about you. I’m not like his agent or something, that is just the player he is.”