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Former Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig professional Xaver Schlager – a free agent since July 1st – has officially selected Nottingham Forest as his next station. The Austrian international will be reunited with newly appointed Forest head coach Oliver Glasner, under whom he worked for two seasons at Wolfsburg between 2019 and 2021.
Schlager departs German football having made 150 Bundesliga appearances over the course of the last seven seasons. During that time, he scored seven Bundesliga goals and earned 55 caps for his native country.
Xaver Schlager’s time in the Bundesliga
Schlager arrived in German football when Wolfsburg signed him from Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2019. An ankle injury disrupted the first half of his debut campaign, but the Austrian soon established himself alongside Maximilian Arnold in central midfield. By August 2021, Schlager had already made 70 competitive appearances for die Wölfe and developed into one of the team’s most important midfielders.
His Wolfsburg rise was interrupted by a cruciate ligament rupture suffered against Leipzig early in the 2021/22 season. Schlager underwent surgery and remained sidelined until February 2022. He nevertheless returned strongly enough to earn a move to Leipzig, who paid approximately €12m for him that summer.
Schlager quickly became an important part of Marco Rose’s Leipzig midfield. He scored the winner against Werder Bremen in November 2022 as the German Red Bulls extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to 13 matches. His energetic pressing, physicality and willingness to contest virtually every midfield duel made him well suited to Rose’s football.
Injuries nevertheless repeatedly halted his momentum. A syndesmosis tear ended his first Leipzig season prematurely in March 2023. After re-establishing himself and forming an effective partnership with Amadou Haidara, Schlager then suffered another ACL rupture in May 2024. The injury ended what Leipzig sporting director Rouven Schröder described as a spectacular campaign and ruled him out of Austria’s European Championship squad.
Schlager fought his way back once again and reclaimed a starting place during the 2024/25 campaign. A strong subsequent training camp convinced new Leipzig head coach Ole Werner to make him an integral part of the 2025/26 squad. Schlager was named David Raum’s vice-captain and moved ahead of Arthur Vermeeren in the midfield hierarchy.
His final Leipzig season ultimately marked the end of a seven-year Bundesliga journey. Schlager rejected the opportunity to extend his expiring contract, prompting Leipzig to acquire Rocco Reitz as his long-term replacement. He departed after 108 competitive appearances for the Saxons.
