Thursday 26 January 2017 07:25, UK
Bayer Leverkusen winger Julian Brandt is being linked with a move to Liverpool, but would he suit the Anfield club? Football Whispers takes a look.
The Liverpool Echo have reported that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp wants to bring Bayer Leverkusen's Julian Brandt to Anfield.
The 20-year-old has been tipped for great things ever since his youth days at Wolfsburg. The Germans aren't short of prodigious talents but Brandt was the talk of the academy after scoring 27 goals in 48 games, as a winger, spread over two seasons.
It was this form that convinced Leverkusen to part with a rumoured €350,000 (£298,000) to bring the then 17-year-old to the BayArena and lead to German legend Rudi Voller proclaiming the club had signed "one of the most talented players in German football".
The Bremen-born maestro wasted no time settling in with two goals and two assists in just 597 minutes of play during his first half season with the club.
Despite the fact he won't be turning 21 years old until May, the Germany-capped attacker has already featured in over 80 Bundesliga matches with 17 goals and 13 assists to his name, and became the youngest player since Gerd Muller to score in six consecutive Bundesliga matches during the 2015/16 season.
The versatile forward's current deal expires in 2019 and when the player was recently asked about any potential developments he voiced his frustration.
"We're constantly in good talks. If it were up to me, the summer would be the right time [to renew]," he said. "I don't want to deal with this forever. It gets annoying and performances will suffer because of it."
It's an anxious time for Leverkusen fans. If a renewal is not agreed, Brandt could leave for as little as €12.5m (£10.7m) due to a reported release clause he has in his current deal that becomes active in the summer of 2018, according to German publication Bild.
With Leverkusen in talks with Genk winger Leon Bailey it looks as though the German club are preparing for life without Brandt.
He could go from potentially being the club's most expensive export to being one of the bargains of the decade although Liverpool may feel as though they have waited long enough, after reportedly keeping tabs on him for close to five years.
Sadio Mane, who signed for a reported £33m in the summer, hit the ground running and is currently the club's top scorer with nine goals. He's added a layer to the Liverpool attack that they had lacked in recent years but now there's a chance they are too reliant on the Senegal international.
In his absence, Liverpool don't have explosive pace or a player with comparable movement and the alternatives don't offer as much protection to the right-back as the former Southampton man.
Klopp can't sign a like-for-like replacement because that limits him and the team. Whoever the German opts to sign in attack will have to be able to play alongside Mane as well as in place of him.
Brandt could do just that.
At Leverkusen, he has played alongside Karim Bellarabi, the maverick Hakan Calhanoglu and behind the movement of former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez. It's not too dissimilar to the dynamic of the current Liverpool attacking trio.
Brandt may not be as quick as Mane but he's no slouch. He is a goal threat from a wide area and clinical in front of goal for someone of his age. He is comfortable playing anywhere behind the striker and more importantly, he looks to get beyond the striker. In the past, people accused the Reds of having too many creators and not enough finishers. Adding Brandt to the squad would further dismiss this notion.
Having played under Schmidt, a manager notorious for having his squads well drilled, he knows how important it is to be disciplined and knows all about pressing traps and pressing triggers as well as how to dictate space. All integral for an attacker in the Liverpool system.
The Reds would have no problem paying the £20m it would reportedly cost to pry the player away from Germany. He currently earns a reported £19,000-per-week and could see his wages doubled if he linked up with the Merseyside outfit.
He slaloms like Philippe Coutinho, moves like Roberto Firmino and finishes like Mane. Like Mario Gotze at Borussia Dortmund, he could be Klopp's dynamo between the lines.
