There was plenty of change at our club as usual over the past 12 months - with the positions of head coach and sporting director not the only ones affected. Under the guidance of Gerhard Struber and Bernhard Seonbuchner, Mads Bidstrup & others joined our conveyer belt of talent destined for the very top of the game. We have an overview of the comings and goings over the past year here.
New signings
Mads Bidstrup
The Danish Pitbull came to Salzburg in the summer and promptly battled his way to a permanent spot in our starting line-up. Bidstrup started every single one of our UEFA Champions League matches and was a guarantee of success in Austria. The former Premier League midfielder made 18 appearances in the UNIQA ÖFB Cup and ADMIRAL Bundesliga, remaining unbeaten throughout all of them!
Oscar Gloukh
The sparkling Israeli attacking talent needed no time at all to settle in after his move from Maccabi Tel Aviv - with the playmaker racking up an incredible 16 goal involvements since his arrival in January. The youngster has shown great dynamism and intelligence, with his services regularly called upon by his national team too.
Leo Morgalla
The young German can definitely look back on a promising start to life in Austria. After gaining important first-team experience at 1860 Munich in the German third tier, he switched to Salzburg in the summer, and lived his dream by making his UEFA Champions League debut in San Sebastian.
Petar Ratkov
First impressions are always the most important ones. The giant striker certainly began with a splash - scoring our first goal of the season on the opening day in Altach. Petar – who helped TSC Backa Topola to finish as Serbian runners-up last season with a sensational nine goals – has further developed over the autumn, giving hope he can add to his three goals in the new year.
Alex Schlager
Our dependable shot stopper crowned an amazing autumn by racing to our Player of the Month honour last month with a whopping 71% of the vote. The returning goalkeeper helped us to a brilliant start in the UEFA Champions League, becoming known as the Panther from Lisbon for his heroics against Benfica. He saw more action than anyone else with a total of 2,280 minutes - and ensured our defence conceded a measly 10 goals in 17 matches. The name Alexander has been becoming increasingly popular for newborns in Austria since 2017, and there might just be some more on the way in the Salzburg area given our goalkeeper's heroics …
Aleksa Terzic
After impressing in 38 appearances in Serie A for Fiorentina and Empoli, the left-back made his way to Salzburg in the summer. He has very much looked the part here and has played whenever fit. An adductor injury sustained at the end of October has left him onlooking since.
Adam Daghim, Soumaila Diabate, John Mellberg, Douglas Mendes, Elione Fernandes-Neto and Nicolo Turco also joined our Red Bulls in 2023. The promising talents began at our co-operation partners FC Liefering in the ADMIRAL 2. Liga. A bright future beckons for all of them.
Departures
Junior Adamu
Junior's start in Freiburg has been made more complicated by injury woes, while the form of fellow Austrian Michael Gregoritsch in attack has left him making only cameo appearances since recovering. The tricky attacker has made his mark on the UEFA Europa League already though, pouncing against Backa Topola.
Bernardo
The defensive demon has made a super start in Bochum! Those in the know marked his transfer as a real coup for the German Bundesliga side - and they have been proved correct. Bernardo has not missed a minute of league action this season and has won more challenges than anyone else in the division - 223. No surprise that EA SPORTS FC recently made him a special Team of the Week card.
Antoine Bernede
After a loan to FC Lausanne-Sport, the Frenchman signed on permanent terms for the Swiss Super League side. Toni is a dependable force in the team - playing more minutes of league action than anyone else for Ludovic Magnin's side, who are locked in a battle to retain their top-flight status.
Oumar Diakite
Having been a dependable strike partner of Karim Konate at Liefering, he headed for Ligue 1 - and has been hunting for goals with Stade Reims. He made the starting line-up of his new side at the start of the season but has since been restricted to brief appearances - scoring two goals for the mid-table outfit.
Ousmane Diakite
He has been Hartberg's midfield hero. While he was not able to prevent his side falling to a defeat despite a dazzling performance in their visit to the Red Bull Arena in November, his development has been noteworthy. Most importantly, he has played through the autumn without suffering injury misfortune - having previously suffered two serious knee injuries.
Youba Diarra
His move to Cadiz in January was not followed by immediate success, with the defensive midfielder playing a total of 94 minutes in the spring. A loan to Asteras Tripolis was designed to give him more playing time, but Youba has managed only fits and starts in Greece.
Philipp Köhn
The 25-year-old is the undisputed number 1 for Monaco. He has kept five clean sheets, with his saves contributing to former Salzburg coach Adi Hütter's charges going into the new year in third. He is no doubt enjoying a very happy Christmas with his beloved dog, Sam.
Noah Okafor
Local rivals Inter Milan may be 11 points ahead, but AC Milan can look back on a promising autumn. Okafor and Co are third in Italy - the same spot they finished in the Champions League's Group of Death. Noah has featured in almost every clash - although a muscle injury has ruled him out recently.
Nici Seiwald
Our local lad has found fierce competition for spots at RB Leipzig. The midfield maestro has made just the one German Bundesliga start, so far. Things have been slightly easier in Europe, with Nici starting both Champions League clashes against Guardiola and Haaland's Manchester City.
Benji Sesko
When he scores, Leipzig never fail to win! Seven goals in 698 minutes of play are his proud record to date in Germany. While Marco Rose has mostly relied on his explosive impact from the bench, Benji has started every match for his national team this season. What a success that has been, with his seven goal involvements helping to take Slovenia to EURO 2024.
Adam Stejskal
The Czech goalkeeper did not make any competitive appearances for us and moved to WSG Tirol in the summer. His season is going very well personally - as he has started every league tie to become a permanent Austrian Bundesliga presence. His team have room for improvement, however, with the Kristallkicker in the second last spot currently.
Alex Walke
Our goalkeeping legend hung his gloves up in the summer after winning a whopping 11 league titles and nine cups in our colours. After 227 appearances for us, he has moved to RB Leipzig to assist the next generation of goalkeepers there.
Max Wöber
After battling it out in the Premier League for Leeds United, the tough tackler from Vienna has gone on loan to Borussia Mönchengladbach. He is a permanent part of Gerardo Seoane's side and had a curiously mixed match to see out the year with - scoring his first goal for the club in Frankfurt but then getting sent off.
