RB Leipzig rocked ahead of Celtic trip as club chief explains technical director axing after secret Chelsea talks

RB Leipzig chief Oliver Mintzlaff has explained why he had to sack the club's technical director after he held secret talks about joining Chelsea, with the German club rocked ahead of their trip to face Celtic.

Celtic welcome the Bundesliga side to Parkhead for the fourth round of fixtures in the Champions League group stage, with Ange Postecoglou's side still seeking their first win in the section. But Leipzig have suffered behind-the-scenes turmoil after key technical director Christopher Vivell was axed after it was discovered he is set to move to Chelsea in the same role.

And Mintzlaff insisted they had no choice but to act. He said: "The trust was no longer there so then we simply acted and released him. He no longer fitted and we made this decision with full conviction. I absolutely did not know of any meeting with him and Chelsea. If there is no longer trust in football, working together makes no sense. That's why we released him. And I think that that should suffice as an explanation."

Meanwhile, RB Leipzig are set to sign former Reading keeper Orjan Nyland, with the free agent Norwegian coming in as a replacement for injured club captain Peter Gulasci.

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