Domenico Tedesco not worried about RB Leipzig stars being linked with Bayern Munich

Domenico Tedesco has been working wonders at RB Leipzig ever since taking over for Jesse Marsch. Die Roten Bullen sit in 3rd place in the Bundesliga table and have progressed to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, where they are slated to take on Rangers at the end of the month. At an individual level, there have been a handful of players exhibiting fantastic seasons under Tedesco, two of which have been linked with potential moves to Bayern Munich at some point in the future. Both Konrad Laimer and Christopher Nkunku’s names have been mentioned in the same breath as Bayern in recent weeks.

In Leipzig’s press conference ahead of the DFB-Pokal semi-final clash against Union Berlin, Tedesco was asked about some of his players being linked with Bayern, but said that he’s not too bothered by the rumors. “I’m absolutely relaxed about it, it’s part of it, it doesn’t just affect us. Rumors are simply part of it, that’s natural, especially when we’re successful. Then there are stories like that,” he calmly said (kicker).

While the links could be viewed as an external distraction at Leipzig, Tedesco views it more as a form of flattery that other clubs across Europe are taking keen notice of how well his players are doing under him. “It’s more of a positive thing, but that affects us in no time,” he said.

If either Nkunku or Laimer were ever to eventually join Bayern at some point, they’d be following in the footsteps of Julian Nagelsmann, Dayot Upamecano, and Marcel Sabitzer, all of whom joined Bayern this past summer from Leipzig. It’s hard to argue that any of three have had fantastic starts to their tenures at Bayern, but both Laimer and Nkunku are currently in fantastic runs of form.

Laimer’s contract expires next summer while Nkunku’s expires in June 2024, but both would likely cost Bayern a considerable fee. From Bayern’s perspective, at this point, it’s difficult to look past the current contract situations of Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry to be able to look towards signing expensive targets like Laimer and/or Nkunku. Reports also suggest that Bayern is already close to securing both Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax this summer.