ASTON VILLA IN POLE POSITION TO SIGN €50M GERMAN ACE AS LIVERPOOL, NEWCASTLE FALL BEHIND
Aston Villa are reportedly the best-placed English club to sign Brajan Gruda, the exciting young German attacker who is also receiving admiring glances from Liverpool and Newcastle United.
Gruda is a 20-year-old right winger who is versatile and can also shine in the No 10 or centre-forward roles if needed. He joined the Mainz academy ranks in July 2018 and worked his way up before making his first-team debut for the club in January 2023.
The 2023-24 campaign saw Gruda start to make his mark on the German top flight. He became a regular starter for Mainz, playing 29 times and chipping in with four goals and three assists.
The creative star ended the season on a high, registering a goal and assist in Mainz’s 3-1 win over Wolfsburg on the final day.
Gruda has yet to make his senior Germany debut, due to the incredible attacking options at Julian Nagelsmann’s disposal, but he is currently impressing for Germany U21s and is hoping to make the step up in the next few years. He even helped Nagelsmann out by training with the senior squad in the build up to Euro 2024.
Not only is Gruda attracting the attention of German FA (DFB) officials, but he is also emerging as a target for several Premier League sides.
On May 25, it emerged that Liverpool had begun rivalling Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen for Gruda’s capture.
Aston Villa, Newcastle, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig have since joined Liverpool and Leverkusen in the chase for the starlet, whose father was a professional footballer in Albania.
Aston Villa transfers: Brajan Gruda an attacking target
According to the latest reports in Germany, Gruda would ideally like to join a Champions League club when leaving Mainz, which rules Newcastle out.
But there is one key reason why Villa president of football operations Monchi has the advantage over Liverpool in the hunt to bring Gruda to England. The youngster is determined to continue being a regular starter at his next club, and that will be harder to do at Anfield.
Villa do already have some top wingers on their books, including Moussa Diaby, Leon Bailey and new arrival Samuel Iling-Junior. Nevertheless, Gruda feels he can make an impact at Villa Park, should Unai Emery’s side forge an agreement with Mainz.
The reports add that Villa’s strongest competitors for Gruda at this stage are Leverkusen and Leipzig, with Liverpool and Newcastle seemingly falling behind in the pursuit.
When Gruda first broke through, he was valued at €20m (£17m), but Mainz have since been tipped to hold out for a whopping €50m (£42m).
Villa will have no intention of meeting that huge sum though and will try to drive Mainz down from their lofty demands.
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2024-07-03T19:06:35Z dg43tfdfdgfd