Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Monitoring Julian Brandt

During the international break, Germany’s SportsBild claimed Bayer Leverkusen’s rising star attacker Julian Brandt had a €12.5M release clause and that Liverpool were interested in the player, seeing him as both a long-term building block and potential cover for Sadio Mané during AFCON in the new year.

Now, a week on, the English-based reports are surfacing, led today by Goal’s claims Liverpool are “monitoring” the young attacker. More than that, they’re said to have been tracking him for years, with the player a long-term target rather than one they only became interested in following Jürgen Klopp’s arrival.

Given his age and quality, it’s hardly the most surprising idea, and with Brandt amongst the best young attackers in the Bundesliga he’s a player who will have been on many lists of big clubs around Europe for at least a few years now. In many ways, the question is almost certainly more of who and when than if.

And on that front, while Liverpool may well have been interested in him before Klopp arrived, Klopp being at the club would certainly make them a more appealing destination for Brandt. A title challenge and potentially a return to the Champions League for next season wouldn’t hurt the club’s case, either.

The new English rumours claim Liverpool will only go for Brandt for the right price and if Klopp feels he needs cover for Mané—something that will be determined by injuries and the squad’s overall health. Yet if the earlier reports are true, the price certainly is right and there would seem little reason to hold off.