Rumour: Man United and Chelsea to fight for Julian Brandt

Alex Pritchard and Julian Brandt

Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea are both said to be keen on a move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Julian Brandt, despite the fact that the youngster has made just two Bundesliga appearances.

The 17 year old is highly rated in his homeland and has represented Germany at under 15, 16, 17 and 19 levels.

Brandt only moved to Bayer Leverkusen in December, having previously been at Wolfsburg. Chelsea were reportedly keen on signing him at the time, but lost out to Bayer, and have kept tabs on him since.

However, according to the Mirror, United are now said to have joined the race for Brandt, who has been likened to fellow young talent Adnan Januzaj.

At the time of his signing, Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller played up Brandt’s talents and the German side would be loath to lose their new signing.

Voller fought hard to sign Brandt, with German legend having told reporters that: “Julian Brandt is one of the most talented players in German football.”

The midfielder was reportedly said to have signed for Bayer due to the prospect of first team football, making the links with the Premier League look less likely. He has featured in Bayer’s last two league games from the bench and played 45 minutes of the German side’s Champions League defeat to PSG last week.

Brandt achieved a pass accuracy of 87% against PSG last week. Only four PSG players scored higher.