Liverpool Target Julian Brandt Hints at Leaving Germany Behind

Liverpool have made no secret of their interest in Julian Brandt, Bayer Leverkusen’s highly rated 20-year-old attacker. The club have scouted the young German regularly this season, and journalists with ties to the club have confirmed their interest on a number of occasions.

Interest may not mean a deal gets done, but more so than with most transfer rumours, it’s clear there is genuine interest. Now, the player has talked to Germany’s Deutsche Welle about the possibility he could end up playing abroad. And the long of the short of it is, he’d like to.

“You can take a step back (playing abroad) but I don’t think you have to,” he said when asked if a move away from Germany could stall his progress. “Those who back themselves have nothing in their way, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing to try and find your feet abroad.”

“Julian (Draxler) and Leroy (Sane) are the best examples of that right now. They are both young players who have huge futures ahead of them. It’s tough to say what happens next as I’m happy here, but we’ll see. I take [the rumours of interest] as recognition.”

Brandt moved to Leverkusen as a 17-year-old from Wolfsburg in a €350k deal and managed to make an instant impact, with two goals and three assists in 12 Bundesliga appearances in year one. So far this season, he has two goals and six assists in 22 league games.

The versatile forward is capable of playing any attacking position in support of a central striker. He has represented Germany at every youth level and has to date earned four senior caps.