Borussia Dortmund have completed the signing of Bayer Leverkusen forward Julian Brandt. The 23-year old has agreed a 5-year contract with the Bundesliga runners-up.
Brandt has been regularly linked with a move to the Premier League, with Liverpool's name often in that conversation. But the 24-times capped Germany international has opted for Dortmund to aid his own development.
He's their third signing of the day alone, following the €25m arrival of Thorgan Hazard (Eden's brother) from Borussia Monchengladbach, and Hoffenheim full-back Nico Schulz. The glut of signings is a boost for Dortmund given the departure to Chelsea of Christian Pulisic.
Busy 🐝's pic.twitter.com/0tyKQjVBZl
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) May 22, 2019
Since making his Leverkusen debut at 17, Brandt has gone on to make 165 Bundesliga appearances, scoring 34-times. Dortmund Sporting Director Michael Zorc says Brandt is an ideal signing, "at 23 years of age he's still a young player with lots of potential for development. He can be deployed in several attacking positions and will enhance our game with his creativity."
Dortmund appeared bound for their first Bundesliga title since 2012, before a February wobble became a March collapse with defeats to eventual champions Bayern Munich and neighbours Schalke.
Despite their status as perennial runners-up, Brandt is excited about the move, "BVB came extremely close to winning the title last season. So there's room for improvement. I have high hopes with the lads, I'm very motivated and optimistic – not just when it comes to my development as an individual, but the development of the entire team too."
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