According to reports from Germany, Liverpool are among several clubs showing an interest in an up-and-coming teenage prospect.
SportBILD have claimed that the Reds are part of a wide-ranging group of teams who’ve taken a shine to Mainz forward Brajan Gruda.
The 19-year-old is also coveted by the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, with €20m (£17m) being cited within the report as a ‘realistic’ amount at which his current club may be willing to sell.
One Liverpool player is very well placed to pass on some insider information on Gruda – Sepp van den Berg has been a teammate of the teenager while on loan at Mainz from Anfield over the 2023/24 season.
The Germany under-21 international chipped in with seven goal contributions, two of which came on the Bundesliga final day last weekend as a 3-1 win at Wolfsburg ensuerd his team’s place in the top flight next term, having gone into the match at risk of filling the relegation play-off berth.
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Primarily a number 10 but also able to operate on the right flank or at centre-forward, the 19-year-old excels in one-on-one situations. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 9% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for progressive carries per game (5.48), and he’s in the top 3% for successful take-ons per 90 with a highly impressive 3.78.
Of course, going from the bottom half of the Bundesliga with Mainz to challenging at the business end of the Premier League with Liverpool would be a significant step up for Gruda, who’d almost certainly be viewed through a long-term prism at Anfield rather than as someone tasked with making an immediate impact.
It could take a very convincing sales pitch from the Reds to land the teenager, who reportedly finds Leverkusen a ‘very interesting’ option (SportBILD), but perhaps Van den Berg can put in a positive character reference to the LFC hierarchy…