Brandt to snub Bayern in favour of first-team football

Julian Brandt says he could reject a transfer to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich as the promise of first-team action with Bayer Leverkusen is more appealing.

The 21-year-old has scored three goals and registered eight assists in an otherwise underwhelming Bundesliga campaign that sees Leverkusen languishing in 12th place, with head coach Roger Schmidt having been sacked in March.

As Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery approach the twilight of their trophy-laden careers, wingers are thought to be top of Carlo Ancelotti’s wish list, with Brandt chief among their targets.

However, having established himself in Joachim Low’s Germany squad this season, Brandt is contemplating remaining at the BayArena.

“If you do a transfer, there’s no guarantee that you play,” he told Focus. 

“I think it is very important for me to play many matches next season and that’s what I can do in Leverkusen.”

Some fans have already taken to protesting against Brandt as rumours over his future persist, much to the youngster’s frustration.

“That has nothing to do with freedom of speech,” he said. “You can’t keep people from doing it, probably. There are many idiots in this world.”