Silky First Touch, Exceptional Vision – What Julian Brandt Would Bring Leeds United | OneFootball

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Leeds United are exploring a move for German attacking midfielder Julian Brandt as a free agent, but face fierce competition. The Whites are prepared to fight to bring him to Elland Road, with the club’s recruitment team surely having looked at his profile and where he might fit in in depth.

Inside Futbol listed Brandt’s name as one of 21 free agents the Whites might or should consider recently and the club have taken the hint. With Leeds’ interest in Brandt now confirmed, we take a look at his career, playing style and what he could bring to the table for Daniel Farke’s side if the move materialises this summer.

Brandt’s career

Brandt moved to Bayer Leverkusen in January 2014 from Wolfsburg’s youth system and made his senior debut within a month against Schalke, replacing future Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min in the frontline.

Three impressive seasons with Leverkusen led to interest from Liverpool, and if the ‘laptop gurus’ had not convinced Jurgen Klopp that Mohamed Salah was the better fit for the Reds, Brandt might already have been gracing the Premier League.

It is perhaps apt that both Salah and Brandt are free agents at the same time this World Cup summer, and just maybe another chapter could be added to the story if another club have to make the choice between the two.

He eventually left Die Werkself after five years for Borussia Dortmund in 2019, where Brandt has remained until this summer.

Brandt registered 57 goals and 70 assists in 307 appearances for Die Borussen, on top of the 42 goals and 52 assists he produced in 215 games for Leverkusen, leaving the German with a combined goal contribution per game ratio of 0.42. Brandt can also boast more than 80 Champions League appearances, while the national side have handed him 48 caps.

In the Bundesliga alone, he has made 383 appearances, registering 77 goals and 79 assists, while Brandt has never been sent off.

Style of play

Brandt began his career as a winger before being moved into a more central midfield role alongside Arsenal’s Kai Havertz by manager Peter Bosz in his final season at Leverkusen.

The quintessential German attacking midfielder, Brandt can be stylistically compared to Julian Draxler, Florian Wirtz, Dortmund team-mate Mario Gotze, Mesut Ozil and Havertz.

While Havertz might now be playing as a false 9 and Draxler might have relied more on direct dribbling, Brandt has been a creative fulcrum and has shown a desire to drift across the pitch and create chances with through balls and reverse passes while occupying the half spaces.

A technical dribbler, relying on close control and agility rather than pace or power, Brandt is as effective as Wirtz and Gotze, not letting a lack of a low centre of gravity hinder him in jinking and turning.

Brandt is unerring in his finishing, be it from half-volleys, volleys, or if it is after taking a deft first touch to create space for himself, aiming for and finding the bottom far corner with regularity. Brandt also has the cheeky dink in his locker to pull off the more extravagant finishes a la Lionel Messi, Dennis Bergkamp and Philippe Coutinho.

His heatmap from last season sees him occupy all areas in the attacking third with equal probability as he drifts to either wing from central areas, searching for pockets of space to dictate play. Brandt also ranks highly for goals and is in the top ten percentile for touches in the opponent’s box, with his output from last season marking him as a close stylistic match to Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White.

How does Brandt fit in?

The most obvious slot for Brandt to take would be that of Brenden Aaronson’s, with both players being right footed and likely to drift inside while attacking. Brandt could also play behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a traditional number 10 if a midfielder is sacrificed.

Ideally, Farke could deploy Brandt as the nominal left winger, with Gabriel Gudmundsson providing width through overlapping runs. A more defensive, workman-like right flank could balance the strong left-side bias and may even help bring out Aaronson’s best qualities.

Farke might also look to deploy players in close physical proximity to Brandt, allowing the German to play his one-twos and line-breaking passes more efficiently. With defenders drawn to that area, Brandt’s through balls would also find more takers, and an elite right winger with pace to burn could be considered as a complementary option.

The Champions League final showed that, at the very top, high-quality teams are rarely afforded space or transitional chances, with Arsenal ceding record possession to Paris Saint-Germain. If and when Leeds take the next step, having a player like Brandt on the books becomes non-negotiable, as sides will inevitably defend deep week in, week out against the Whites’ lineup.

Brandt would also bring experience of playing at the highest level of the game and would lift the squad immediately by showing, rather than telling, what is required to succeed.

There is a real risk of Brandt and Leeds bringing out the worst in each other. If Farke sticks to a rigid formation and does not afford Brandt the license to roam, it would no longer require opposition defences to nullify the German’s threat.

Brandt is highly unlikely to be content with a bench role and Farke will need to use him from the start while simultaneously designing a system around the German. If Brandt turns out to be a board signing without Farke’s consent, the transfer could sour very quickly for all parties involved.

As with all cerebral players, there will remain a trade-off between attacking gains and defensive control, which the manager may have to manage. Brandt might even be an extreme example of this issue, ranking in the bottom fifth percentile for defensive actions and not doing much better in terms of possession won.

Brandt is a marquee name that could prove to be a coup for the Whites if planned well. His silky first touch, exceptional vision, and elegant dribbling can draw even visiting supporters out of their seats at Elland Road.

Only execution can prevent Brandt from becoming merely a vanity signing once the initial excitement fades.