According to German newspaper Bild, Arsenal would have to pay just €20million (£17.5million) to sign Borussia Dortmund playmaker Julian Brandt.
It’s claimed that the Gunners are ‘digging hard’ for Brandt, seemingly viewing him as the ideal replacement for Martin Odegaard once his loan move from Real Madrid ends this summer.
Dortmund only want £17.5million for Brandt, which is a fraction of the price Arsenal would be expecting to pay to sign Odegaard permanently and a £4million loss on what Dortmund paid to sign Brandt from Bayer Leverkusen in 2019.
Brandt is allegedly open to exploring a new challenge given that he is barely playing for Dortmund, and Arsenal can offer that this summer.
The 24-year-old has only started 16 league games this season, and is seemingly accepting that he needs to leave Dortmund in order to play regularly.
In 82 games for Dortmund, Brandt has notched 10 goals and 15 assists; a goal contribution every 3.3 games.
Compare that to his Leverkusen numbers; 42 goals and 51 assists in 215 games, a goal contribution every 2.3 games, and you begin to see that his time at Dortmund just hasn’t worked, even if Michael Zorc called him ‘fantastic’ last year.
Brandt is far from a lost cause though, and Arsenal may believe that they can land a bargain whilst knowing that they will have to coach him back up after a poor spell with Dortmund.
The focus will still be Odegaard, but if Real don’t budge, the £17.5million deal for Brandt will begin to look more and more appealing, with Brandt potentially emerging as the true heir to former international teammate Mesut Ozil as Arsenal’s chief creative force.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
