FEATURE | Julian Brandt: Does he have a future at Borussia Dortmund? | OneFootball

With less than two months remaining in the summer transfer window, Borussia Dortmund have quite a few issues to resolve going into the 2025/26 season. BVB have a number of players who have entered the final 12 months of their contracts such as Sébastien Haller, Salih Ozcan, Pascal Groß, Emre Can, Giovanni Reyna and Niklas Süle, but perhaps none of them are playing as an important role in the side as Julian Brandt.

After emerging as one of the brightest talents in European football with Bayer Leverkusen, Brandt made the move to Borussia Dortmund in 2019 after they triggered his €25m release clause. Since then, the German attacking midfielder has played a pivotal role as the team’s creative protagonist, responsible for keeping possession flowing and threading delightful passes into the final third. All told, he has racked up 46 goals and 66 assists in 266 BVB appearances, closing out the 2024/25 Bundesliga season with six goal contributions in his final four matches as Dortmund narrowly escaped with a Champions League top spot.

Brandt returned to the fold a month later in their opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup, wearing the captain’s armband and playing 77 minutes in a 0-0 draw vs. Brazilian side Fluminense. Speaking to Get German Football News before the match, Brandt admitted: “I was more of a winger when I was younger, and it’s true that I’ve changed a lot since then. I’ve become more of a 10 or 8 now…you get older and get more experienced and become more of a leader.

“When I was 17 or 18, after games, playing PlayStation or having a night out. Today it’s different; my character has changed,” Brandt continued. “My style is not so much dribbling now, and more playing with the team. In the end, I’m a player that people will always view by how many goals or assists I get per season, so I try to be effective and I’ve changed that a lot. But honestly, I feel the same. I’m a bit older, but it’s still the same.”

Despite breaking his wrist vs. Fluminense, Dortmund’s #10 played a key role in their Club World Cup. Having played as a left-sided winger alongside Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi, Brandt was shifted into a second striker role in their following match with new arrival Jobe Bellingham operating as the attacking midfielder. Brandt impressed in their following match, setting up Guirassy’s go-ahead goal in a 4-3 victory against Mamelodi Sundowns, before dropping to the bench vs. Ulsan HD, where he’d replace Felix Nmecha with a half-hour left on the clock. He remained on the bench in their Round of 16 match vs. Monterrey, replacing Nmecha in the 71st minute, before returning to the fold and wearing the captain’s armband in a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid.

At 29 years of age, it remains to be seen whether or not Brandt has reached the end of his peak powers, but it is clear that BVB are keen to go younger and rebuild after a rollercoaster season that, at one point, looked set to end in disaster. And with plenty of other veterans like Guirassy (29), Marcel Sabitzer, Groß (34) and Ramy Bensebaini (30) in tow, BVB can certainly afford to shed Brandt from their squad without suffering a major blow in the leadership department. With BVB clearly against renewing his contract, they have no other choice but to sell him this summer in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer in 2026.

Dortmund will be looking to cut loose both Sabitzer and Brandt from their squad this summer, with both players finding themselves behind Bellingham, Nmecha and Groß in Niko Kovac’s midfield pecking order. They are clearly not sold on Brandt as their long-term #10, which is evident by their persistent albeit fruitless pursuit of Rayan Cherki, who joined Manchester City, as well as their desire to keep Carney Chukwuemeka, who impressed in his loan spell from Chelsea. However, their salaries (Brandt €8m, Sabitzer €7m) could prove an obstacle in their attempt to sell them on permanent deals this summer, as they look to set about filling a number of holes in their squad, like a replacement for Jamie Gittens following his big-money move to Chelsea.

After six years at the club, could Julian Brandt’s time at the Signal Iduna Park finally be coming to an end?

GGFN | Zach Lowy