Bayer Leverkusen star Julian Brandt is one of the hottest propeties in Europe, but why are the top clubs chasing his signature?

GERMAN winger Julian Brandt has become one of the hottest prospects in European football recently, with several top clubs tracking the 20-year-old’s progress.

After Liverpool and Real Madrid both sent scouts to watch Brandt in Champions League action for Bayer Leverkusen against Atletico Madrid last night, have broken down what makes the young Bundesliga star so special.

Although Bayer lost 4-2 at home to Los Colchoneros, the German side’s disappointing loss was more a result of poor defending than anything else.

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Brandt certainly did his bit to boost his team’s hopes of winning by creating three scoring chances for colleagues, and completing an incredible seven take-ons in his 87 minutes, showing exactly why so many top clubs are chasing his signature.

After scoring in six consecutive Bundesliga games towards the tail end of last season, Brandt announced himself to the German footballing public as a bona fide star.

So impressive was his form through April and May that the then 19-year-old was selected in national team coach Joachim Low’s 27-man preliminary squad for last summer’s European Championships, when previously he wasn’t a consideration.

Brandt didn’t make the final cut, with Low electing to stay faithful to the more experienced members of his squad.

Yet, the youngster was undeterred and went on to star for the Mannschaft’s Olympic team in their silver medal winning campaign in Rio just a few weeks after the Euros.

Regarded as one of the brightest young talents in Germany from an early age, Brandt has represented his country at every youth level, and now has four senior caps to his name.

His first-team bow for Leverkusen came in February 2014, and he has since gone on to establish himself as a regular part of manager Roger Schmidt’s line-up.

Although he plays predominantly on the left wing, one of Brandt’s greatest strengths is his versatility, which enables him to perform comfortable on the opposite flank or through the middle as a No10.

Blessed with tremendous pace and immaculate close control, the Bremen-born youngster is a gifted dribbler, able to ghost past several opponents in a single move.

He also has an incredible appreciation of his surroundings and a mature understanding of his team-mates movements, meaning that his exhilarating forays into the final third regularly culminate in an accurate cross or through-ball.

Indeed, this season, he has created an average of 1.5 scoring chances per game, while racking up an impressive tally of six assists.

Quick across the ground, Brandt is even more astute in confined spaces, where his lightning-fast footwork and anticipation allows him to escape the attention of multiple defenders when most players would have been crowded out.

With Leverkusen struggling to find a consistent level of performance this term, Brandt’s attacking productivity has suffered slightly.

In 2015-16 he scored nine league goals to help his side finish third in the Bundesliga.

This season, with Bayer down to eighth, he has only managed to find the net twice.

He has, however, upped the amount of take-ons he is completing per match to 2.4 from last season’s one, and he has already doubled his assists total from last term.

Undoubtedly, the goals will return for Brandt, who has time and again showed remarkable composure and technique when through on goal, finishing coolly with either foot.

As it stands, the dynamic and versatile wide man is contracted to Leverkusen until 2019.

However, a bizarre clause in his current deal means he will be available in the summer of 2018 for just £10million.

In the current market, a player of Brandt’s age and ability could be expected to fetch four or five times that figure, so it’s eminently possible that Bayer will look to cash-in at the end of the current season to ensure they get a more reasonable price for their most prized asset.