Skiing background helped Schuster to Brentford
Brentford's new defender Jannik Schuster is steeped in sporting excellence – just not in the sport you might expect. From Tirol, a renowned skiing region of Austria, Schuster learned from his high-performance sporting family but chose a different path when he joined RB Salzburg at under-14 level. It was there that the 6ft 3in centre-back used that mentality to develop through the youth ranks into a well-rounded player.
Schuster has made just 30 appearances at Salzburg but played in their second team in the Austrian second tier a further 39 times [Getty Images] Brentford's new defender Jannik Schuster is steeped in sporting excellence – just not in the sport you might expect. His older brother Jonas has won World Championship and Olympic medals in ski jumping at youth level, following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather. From Tirol, a renowned skiing region of Austria, Schuster learned from his high-performance sporting family but chose a different path when he joined RB Salzburg at under-14 level.
It was there that the 6ft 3in centre-back used that mentality to develop through the youth ranks into a well-rounded player. Schuster can play on either side of central defence and possesses good pace and aerial ability. He also captained the youth team to the Uefa Youth League semi-finals in 2025.
He joins Brentford for an initial £14m, with a further £3m in add-ons, after attracting interest from several European clubs during a breakthrough season in which he featured in Europe, including facing Aston Villa in the early stages of the Europa League. "I think it is the best developing club in the world and every conversation I had made me confident about it," he said after signing a contract until 2031, with the club holding an option for a further year. It makes sense for Brentford to add a young defender, with more experienced options such as Nathan Collins and Kristoffer Ajer competing for starting places.
"I really like him as a young man; he's determined to maximise his potential," head coach Keith Andrews said. "He's going to fit in well with the first-team squad. "