Roger Schmidt wants the noise around Julian Nagelsmann and RB Leipzig to go quiet. Speaking on Saturday after Leipzig’s 6-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, Red Bull’s head of global soccer insisted the club’s thoughts were nowhere near the former Germany coach.

“We are a long way from that. We want a certain degree of continuity,” Schmidt said.

He framed the speculation as the price of a difficult start. In football, Schmidt added, “you have to deal with such issues when you lose two games”, calling it “normal nowadays”.

Why the rumour will not die

Martín Demichelis took over at Leipzig in June on a contract until 2028, replacing Ole Werner. The former Argentina international has had an uneven start in Saxony: two wins in his opening four Bundesliga matches, a heavy Champions League defeat at Como, and then the 6-0 blowout of Frankfurt.

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That mixed start has been enough to put Nagelsmann’s name back in circulation. Sport Bild reported last week that Leipzig had internally dismissed a reunion. Sky Germany followed up the next day with a different account: Nagelsmann is still viewed as an option by part of the leadership, with supervisory board chairman Oliver Mintzlaff described as a particularly strong backer of the 39-year-old.

Both reports agree no formal talks have taken place.

Nagelsmann out of work since July

Nagelsmann is available because he left the Germany job in early July, after the national team lost on penalties to Paraguay in Boston in the World Cup round of 32. He stepped down after a three-hour meeting with the DFB in Frankfurt and has not taken another position since.

Leipzig is where his coaching career accelerated. He led the club to the Champions League semi-finals and second place in the Bundesliga before leaving for Bayern Munich in 2021.

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For now, the sporting case for a change at Leipzig has weakened. Demichelis followed the Frankfurt win with a 1-0 Champions League victory over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday, Brajan Gruda scoring in the 75th minute at the Red Bull Arena.

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