He is the big surprise of Salzburg's season so far

FC Red Bull Salzburg's season so far has already held a few positive surprises.

The biggest of them, however, is certainly named Valentin Zabransky.

Could the Viennese player have believed it himself if he had been told before the season that after ten competitive matches, he would be more or less an undisputed regular starter for the "Bulls"?

"No, not really. It's a huge experience for me. I try to give my best in every game, and I'm happy that the coach relies on me," said the centre-back.

Röhl: "In our minds, he wasn't that far along yet"

It is well known that the coach in question is Danny Röhl, who admits that Zabransky was originally only planned as the fourth or fifth centre-back: "In our minds, he wasn't that far along yet. But in the last ten weeks, he has developed incredibly."

Benefiting from injuries to Tim Drexler and John Mellberg, the 19-year-old was able to collect many minutes of play during pre-season and impressed alongside the robust Kevin Boma, especially due to his ball distribution skills – which he masters exceptionally well with both feet.

Zabransky: "...that's a huge weapon of mine"

"It's unusual for a right-footed player to be able to build up play so well with his left foot," marvels Röhl.

Zabransky himself says: "I don't care if I play the ball with my left or right foot - I can do both. That's a huge weapon of mine, of course."

Overall, the 1.93-meter giant is "a very complete player who does many things right very quickly," says Röhl. Furthermore, he is "brave. He sees spaces not only near the ball but also in the next line."

The ÖFB U19 national team player can express himself quite eloquently for his age and seems extremely mature. "That's how I've always been and how I'll always be. That's also what distinguishes me a bit," grins Zabransky.

Role Model Jannik Schuster

Only recently, Jannik Schuster, an Austrian centre-back from their own youth academy, made rapid progress in Salzburg. The Tyrolean player moved to FC Brentford in the Premier League this summer.

"The path Jannik has taken is, of course, incredible. But I don't want to focus too much on the future. I'm in the here and now, giving my best every game, and then we'll see what comes," says the "Bulls" breakout star.