No return to Leverkusen – Simon Rolfes rules out signing Brandt | OneFootball

For just over a week now, there has been at least some clarity regarding the future of Julian Brandt: his time at Borussia Dortmund will come to an end after June 30. However, where the 29-year-old midfielder will continue his career after the summer is still completely open. A return to Bayer Leverkusen, though, is highly unlikely for Brandt.

After Leverkusen’s managing director Fernando Carro fueled speculation about a possible Brandt comeback with his comments on the sidelines of the match against FC Bayern Munich (1:1), Simon Rolfes immediately put a stop to the rumors.

The Bayer sporting director, whom Carro had referenced regarding squad planning despite his personal enthusiasm for Brandt, made it unmistakably clear as a guest on Sport1-Doppelpass that the club would not be pursuing the 48-time international: “I’m skeptical about bringing players back,” Rolfes said in general, before making it clear that there is simply no room for Brandt in Bayer’s attacking midfield: “In that position, we have Ibo Maza, a fantastic player who will develop excellently in the coming years. Therefore, Julian will not be a topic for us.”

Leverkusen Only Open to Bringing Back Havertz

While Brandt, who left Leverkusen in the summer of 2019 after five and a half years for a transfer fee of 25 million euros to Dortmund, will not be returning to the Werkself, Rolfes would make an exception to his rule against bringing back former players for another individual.

Photo: IMAGO

Unlike Brandt, Rolfes could imagine seeing Kai Havertz, currently under contract at FC Arsenal, back in a Bayer jersey: “We always have close contact with Kai; he’s from our region. If the situation arises, Kai is always a special player whom we, as a former club, have to consider.”

In the short term, however, Havertz—who scored the equalizer from the penalty spot in last week’s first leg—will be doing everything he can on Tuesday to knock Leverkusen out of the Champions League in the return leg.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.