Julian Nagelsmann is at it again, people.
From turning Konrad Laimer into one of Europe's most underappreciated midfielders to reigniting the careers of Patrik Schick and Christopher Nkunku, the 32-year-old has had a profound effect on the Leipzig squad since his summer arrival.
And now, Nagelsmann seems to be working his magic once more. This time with Manchester City loanee
The 23-year-old Spaniard - who signed from Deportivo La Coruna in 2013 - struggled to settle in Manchester, being loaned out four times before being sold to PSV Eindhoven for £5m in the summer of 2018. Pep Guardiola then decided to utilise the buy-back clause in
Despite Benjamin Mendy being a mere shadow of his 2016/17 Monaco self and Oleksandr Zinchenko missing a significant chunk of the campaign due to injury,
His lack of minutes saw him loaned out to Die Roten Bullen on deadline day last month, with Nagelsmann needing cover for Marcel Halstenberg after deputy left-back Marcelo Sarrachi departed on loan to Galatasaray.
And Leipzig's centre-back crisis meant that Angeliño was drafted into Nagelsmann's starting XI almost immediately after his arrival.
Following the 3-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal on
In Nagelsmann's high-pressing, vertical and organised system, the 23-year-old has thrived.
The Leipzig boss' deployment of
Against Tottenham
That night, he also proved how he's swiftly adapted to Nagelsmann's system - displaying a good understanding with Timo Werner on the left in terms of rotations to confuse and pin back the erratic Aurier.
His rapid adjustment to life at the Red Bull Arena has seen him garner praise from his new manager.
"Here he has to do a lot of things very differently than he did with Pep Guardiola," Nagelsmann told Kicker, speaking ahead of the Schalke encounter. "He adapts to things incredibly quickly.
"He is the only newcomer to get used to the way I think about football - just offensive - so quickly.
"He doesn't worry too much, but intuitively he does a lot of things right. He obviously thinks a lot before the games and thinks about what he needs to do and how the trainer is satisfied," he added.
And while he's only appeared five times for Die Roten Bullen, his impressive start has meant there's already been talk of Leipzig activating
While the Leipzig boss cooled talk about a potential deal, it'd make sense for them to add Angelino to their ranks permanently, especially if Nagelsmann persists with a back three when the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Willi Orban return from injury.
As for City, if they were to sell the Spaniard to Leipzig at the end of the season at the agreed price, that'd represent a tidy profit from the £5m they spent to bring him back to the club in the summer.
And with Guardiola demanding so much defensively of his full-backs -
That just won't happen, however.
Nevertheless, with the Spaniard already thriving under Europe's hottest coaching prodigy, it seems that it'd be in the interest of both parties for Leipzig to activate the option to buy included in
From Schick to Nkunku to Laimer and now
Source : 90min