Christoph Baumgartner

Key strength: Vision and passing

Creative playmaker

Navigating a turbulent period for RB Leipzig—currently 6th in the Bundesliga with patchy form stretching across recent fixtures (WLDWL)—Christoph Baumgartner remains the steady heartbeat in Marco Rose's midfield. The Austrian playmaker, valued at €20 million, has delivered 12 goals and 7 assists across 23 appearances this season, emerging as one of Leipzig's primary creative outlets. At 26, Baumgartner operates as the bridge between midfield and attack, his 75-rated passing vision threading opportunities for teammates like Rômulo and Brajan Gruda. Despite his attacking responsibilities, remarkable discipline shines through—just one yellow card in 23 matches while commanding 1,764 minutes of action. As Leipzig fight to reclaim a top-four spot and their European ambitions hang in the balance, Baumgartner's composure and craft become ever more critical. His self-proclaimed strength in vision isn't just rhetoric—it's the very attribute that transforms Leipzig's possession into genuine goal-scoring threat. In a season of inconsistency, Baumgartner's consistency stands out.