The Red Bull pipeline remains active as the Bundesliga giants battle Premier League rivals for Salzburg’s prolific Ivorian marksman, eyeing a high-stakes move for the Kopa Trophy nominee.
RB Leipzig already spent heavily on one young striker this summer. They are now keeping an eye on another one they know very well.
Karim Konaté is attracting interest from Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt as the 22-year-old moves closer to another possible step away from Red Bull Salzburg.
According to Ekrem Konur, Dortmund are currently at the front of the queue, but Leipzig have also made enquiries about Konaté's situation. Sunderland and Nottingham Forest are monitoring him from England, with further Premier League clubs exploring the possibility of a move through his representatives.
Nothing is advanced yet.
There are no formal negotiations, and the interested clubs remain in the scouting and information-gathering stage. Salzburg would prefer to keep Konaté until at least the summer, although a winter departure has not been completely ruled out if an offer reaches their valuation.
That figure is believed to be between €20 million and €25 million.
For Leipzig, he is hardly an unfamiliar name.
Konaté has spent more than four years inside the Red Bull system after moving from Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas in 2022. He initially joined Liefering and scored 15 times in 18 Austrian second-tier appearances before quickly moving into Salzburg's first team.
His breakthrough was emphatic.
Konaté scored 20 league goals in 2023/24 to finish as the Austrian Bundesliga's top scorer, seven clear of his nearest challengers. He averaged a goal every 92 minutes, was named the league's Newcomer of the Season, and was selected in its Team of the Season. Earlier that year, he had also been part of the Ivory Coast squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations.
That season put him among the most highly regarded young strikers outside Europe's biggest leagues. France Football subsequently included him among the ten nominees for the 2024 Kopa Trophy alongside the likes of Lamine Yamal, Arda Güler and João Neves.
Then his progress stopped.
Konaté tore his cruciate ligament in November 2024 and required surgery, an injury that removed much of the momentum he had built during his breakout season.
His return has understandably taken time. He scored seven league goals in 16 appearances last season, but there are now signs of the old Konaté returning.
The Ivorian has four goals from only 294 minutes in the Austrian Bundesliga this season. Across his Salzburg career, he has scored 36 league goals in 69 appearances.
That is the player Leipzig is monitoring: not simply another young Salzburg striker, but one who had already demonstrated significant goalscoring potential before a major injury interrupted his development.
The timing of Leipzig's interest is also worth noting.
The club changed its striker group considerably during the summer. Conrad Harder was allowed to join Strasbourg on loan after struggling to establish himself last season, while Marc Guiu arrived permanently from Chelsea for around €17 million to compete with Rômulo.
That depth has already been tested.
Guiu suffered a hamstring injury in training in September and was ruled out for several weeks. He is one of five Leipzig first-team players currently sidelined, leaving Martín Demichelis without one of the two specialist young centre-forwards recruited for his squad.
None of that means Leipzig is preparing to buy Konaté in January. The reporting does not go that far.
But it does explain why another striker remains on the recruitment department's radar.
Konaté also represents a profile Die Roten Bullen know particularly well. He is quick over the ground, aggressive in attacking space, and has spent years learning the pressing principles expected at Salzburg. At 22, he remains young enough to develop further while already having a body of senior goals behind him.
There is also an obvious historical connection.
Benjamin Šeško arrived in Leipzig after developing at Salzburg. Before him came players such as Dominik Szoboszlai, Amadou Haidara, Naby Keïta and Dayot Upamecano. The route between the two Red Bull clubs has become less frequent in recent years, but Leipzig will know Konaté's development better than most of the clubs now watching him.
The more interesting question is whether they decide this is the moment to act.
Salzburg have Konaté under contract until 2028 and, after waiting through his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury, are under little pressure to sell cheaply. Dortmund's presence adds another complication, while Premier League interest gives Salzburg further leverage if the race becomes serious.
For the moment, the German side is only one of several clubs gathering information.
But Konaté is scoring again, Leipzig's attacking depth has already been stretched, and a striker once regarded as one of the best young forwards in the Red Bull system is approaching another crossroads.
From here, the stage only gets bigger.
