He may not understand what all the fuss is about, but Saturday is set to be a strange day for Julian Nagelsmann.

The 31-year-old Hoffenheim boss announced in June that he would take charge of RB Leipzig from the start of the 2019-20 season.

Three months later, as he prepares to face his 'new' club while still in charge of his 'old' club, he is in the even more unusual position of coming up against his next boss.

Instead of placing another manager in charge for a season while they wait for Nagelsmann to arrive, RB Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick has stepped in and perform both roles.

"There is a lot of explosiveness in this game," Rangnick said on Friday.

"On the one hand the clubs are close in the table, and on the other hand Julian Nagelsmann will be our coach next year. But for me, it's not about showing who the better coach is."

Perhaps understandably, Nagelsmann was less keen to talk about his next club, other than clarifying reports he had already been house-hunting in Leipzig, and laughing off the encounter with his next 'boss'.

"Right now, I'm earning my money here and I want to be successful here," he said.

"My boss is [Leipzig CEO] Oliver Mintzlaff, if I am not mistaken. I do not think the sports director is the boss. Maybe a supervisor. "

To add to the links between the two sides, Rangnick took Hoffenheim from the third division to the top flight in his four-and-a-half years as coach, before leaving in 2011.