Schuster, 19, has been on Brentford's radar for over a year and has made 30 appearances for Salzburg this season, scoring once, as the Austrian club navigated Champions League and Europa League commitments alongside their domestic campaign. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano described the deal as "almost done" with a club-to-club agreement verbally in place.
The centre-back stands at 190 centimetres — a towering physical presence — and has been admired by Brentford scouts specifically for his composure when carrying the ball out of defence under pressure, alongside the kind of aerial dominance that suits head coach Keith Andrews's defensive structure at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Schuster was born in the Austrian Tirol region and grew up in a family with deep roots in ski jumping. His father Werner was Germany's national ski jump coach for over a decade, while his older brother Jonas competed at the Winter Olympics.
The family's second son chose football instead, joining Liefering — Salzburg's feeder club — before graduating to the first team less than a year ago. He has not yet been capped at senior Austria level but has five Under-21 appearances to his name.
His signing would continue a recruitment model at Brentford built on identifying technically capable young players from established European development academies before the wider market drives their valuations beyond reach. The Salzburg pathway in particular — which produced Erling Haaland, Sadio Mané and Naby Keïta among others — carries a premium, but Schuster at €20 million represents a fee the club are comfortable with given his age and trajectory.
A formal announcement is expected once personal terms are finalised. Salzburg are contracted until 2028 and have no financial urgency to sell, but the verbal agreement signals that both clubs are aligned on the deal.