(Football news) Xaver Schlager has changed alliances from Wolfsburg to Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig, the Austria international midfielder has signed a four-year deal till 2026. Schlager  joined Wolfsburg from Red Bull Salzburg in summer 2019, and had only one year left on his contract. The 24-year-old will link up with fellow Austria international Konrad Laimer, who may leave the club after Bayern showed interest in him. Schlager has made 81 appearances in all competitions for Wolfsburg, including 69 in the Bundesliga. Although last season he missed 20 league matches through injury but he still averaged 27 'pressures' per game whilst producing a goal and two assists. Schlager has been capped 29-times with Austria internationally, having won four Austrian Bundesliga titles and three Austrian Cups with Salzburg.

Schlager was born in Linz and was only 12 when he was invited into the RB Salzburg academy. From there he rose through the ranks before being given his first taste of professional football in Austria's second division, at Liefering, when he was just 17 years old. He spent two seasons on loan at Liefering before returning to RB Salzburg where he made his debut on 10 May 2016, when he was still just 18. Four Austrian Bundesliga titles, three Austrian cups later and a very successful tenure with Salzburg, Schlager finally took the next step in his career, switching one Bundesliga for another and joining Wolfsburg. In his final season at Salzburg he helped them end their long wait for UEFA Champions League qualification, succeeding at the 11th time of asking.

In the 2020/21 season Schlager won 428 challenges as he was the third most successful tackler in the Bundesliga in 2020/21, behind Stuttgarts Wataru Endo and Arminia Bielefelds Fabian Klos. The midfield player who played for Austria at the UEFA 2020 Euros, missed most of the season through injury. Schlager somewhat plays a bit like Bastian Schweinsteiger. If you think of a modern box-to-box midfielder, then you would instantly have to think of Bastian Schweinsteiger as Schlager’s game is similar to the German World Cup winner. The former Bayern Munich and Manchester United player was the heartbeat of the Germany national team from 2004 to 2014,as he finished his international career with the FIFA World Cup. RB Leipzig will be hoping that even if he is half as good as him then they have got a good player in their squad

Sporting director Christopher Vivell added: "Xaver Schlager is a tough-tackling and hard-running central midfielder, who not only knows our style of play, but has been playing in this way for years now. Xaver will be a great addition to us both on and off the pitch.

"On the pitch, he's an intelligent box-to-box midfielder who makes good decisions, whilst his strong left foot will improve our versatility in midfield. He's a reliable character away from the pitch, has a great mentality and that's the kind of guy that will improve our team."

"RB Leipzig are one of the top teams in Germany and are consistently in Europe, plus they have now won their first major title with the DFB-Pokal," said Schalger after penning terms at the Red Bull Arena.

"I'm really pleased that this move has been completed and I can continue my development here. The club has big targets and I want to play my part in achieving them!"

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