What do you get when you bring together a club with a trained eye for talent and a man who has forged a reputation out of unearthing some of the rawest gems in world football? That would be RB Leipzig's blueprint for sustained success.

With the likes of Naby Keita, Emil Forsberg, Yussuf Poulsen and Dayot Upamecano, Leipzig have provided a springboard to stardom for several lesser-known players in recent seasons and that trend has only continued following the appointment of Paul Mitchell as their head of recruitment and development in 2018.

The 38-year-old arrived with an impressive portfolio including players such as Dele All, Sadio Mane, Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld, to list just a few of the now household names who were given their break thanks to the Englishman.

"We're delighted to have Paul here," said the Head of Sport and Development Soccer at Red Bull, and former Leipzig sporting director and coach, Ralf Rangnick, who can take credit for much of the impressive scouting and recruitment work carried out by the club on their rise from the fifth tier of German football into the Champions League in eight years. "The results of his work at Southampton and Tottenham are very impressive. I'm confident that Paul will fit in very well here. I'm already looking forward to some exciting debates about potential new players."

Those debates are likely to be very productive, given the comparative views the pair share. Rangnick first dealt with Mitchell in 2014 when Mane passed from Red Bull Salzburg to Southampton – one of several astute signings he lined up while on England's south coast.

Ralf Rangnick (l.) and Paul Mitchell (r.) are working hard to ensure a bright and successful future for RB Leipzig. - Roger Petzsche/imago/Picture Point LE

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Italian forward Graziano Pelle –  one of the world's highest-paid players at Chinese club Shandong Luneng – Serbian midfielder Dusan Tadic and current Liverpool defender and World Cup runner-up Dejan Lovren were also brought in by Mitchell during his time at the Saints before he followed head coach Mauricio Pochettino to Spurs, and further enhanced his reputation.

Indeed, such is Mitchell's pedigree that Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain both wanted him after he informed Spurs of his intention to leave in the summer of 2016. It is Leipzig, whose blueprint boasts a particular emphasis on youth development, who convinced him the most, however, and Mitchell has already been hard at work piecing together potential candidates for prolonged success at the top of the Bundesliga.

"We will stick to our concept of only signing players up to 24 years old," said Rangnick at Mitchell's unveiling. It is a tried, tested and successful system which has catapulted Leipzig into their role of Bayern Munich's closest challengers in the Bundesliga over halfway into 2019/20, and helped take them into the Champions League knockouts - where they will face Spurs - for the first time.

Since Mitchell joined Leipzig in early 2018, the likes of Christopher Nkunku (21 years old), Ademola Lookman (21), Hannes Wolf (20), Dani Olmo (21) and Patrik Schick (23) have all been recruited, remaining faithful to the club's values while further sharpening a team now boasting serious credentials to challenge at home and abroad.

Watch: The rapid rise of Christopher Nkunku at Leipzig

The challenge of getting into such a position is one thing, but establishing themselves there is where the next test lies.

With two of the brightest talent-spotting heads in world football on the same team and wavelength in Rangnick and Mitchell, however, Leipzig fans can certainly look forward to an exciting future.

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