The 22-year-old has been reborn since moving to RB Leipzig after an underwhelming spell in England.
Brajan Gruda really deserved an assist. It was the verge of halftime when the winger took on PSV’s defense, first colliding with a defender before bouncing back up to keep possession. Gruda then held off a defender while skipping past a challenge, where he nutmegged yet another. After beating a fourth defender with a croqueta, Gruda laid the ball off to Neil El Aynaoui, who was alone at the edge of the box — and blasted his shot over the bar.
Gruda wasn’t done yet. Thirty minutes later, a deflected corner fell to him, and, after controlling it with his chest, Gruda faked a shot, took a touch, and thundered his shot past Matěj Kovár to give RB Leipzig the lead. One minute later, Gruda exited the pitch, but he had made his mark. Leipzig held on for the 1-0 win.
It’s been a rough two years for the German. Gruda initially broke through in the 2023/24 season with his academy side, 1. FSV Mainz. Mainz endured a poor season, but a late stretch of strong form, including a final-day win over VfL Wolfsburg, helped Die Nullfünfer to avoid relegation. Gruda’s emergence was crucial, as the then-19-year-old scored three goals and assisted one in his final six games.
Unsurprisingly, the youngster started to attract interest from other clubs. Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich were among the teams reported to be following the Mainz star, with Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané publicly praising the youngster. Gruda was also called up to Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany side ahead of the 2024 Euros, but did not make his debut and ultimately missed out on the final squad for the tournament.
Gruda signed for Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion for a reported €30 million fee in August 2024. It was a seemingly smart move, with the German getting a chance to develop at a team that has made a habit of developing and profiting from young stars. With countryman Fabian Hürzeler at the helm and a host of talented teammates like João Pedro, Gruda would hopefully make the jump.
It didn’t quite work out as hoped. Gruda was recovering from an injury when he joined, and wasn’t able to make his Premier League debut until October. His first start in the league didn’t come until late December, at which point Yankuba Minteh, signed from Newcastle United, had already staked his claim as the club’s starting right winger.
Gruda did at the very least show signs of life towards the end of the season. In April, he came off the bench and engineered a late comeback, assisting two goals in three minutes as Brighton shocked West Ham 3-2. He perhaps didn’t need to do much for the latter, which Carlos Baleba thumped home from distance, but the assists did mark Gruda’s first goal contributions in the Premier League.
Two weeks later, he scored his first goal for the club, a nice chip over José Sá to clinch a 2-0 win over Wolves. After scoring, Gruda fell to the ground, visibly relieved. It was a difficult first season, and it probably didn’t help that, while he fought to break through in England, Mainz were in the race for Europe. In total, Gruda made only eight starts, scoring one and assisting four.
The following season proved to be much the same. Minteh remained the first choice on the right, while Gruda continued to struggle with the physicality of the English game. There were again glimmers of what he could do, including a late winner off the bench against Manchester City. Still, while he managed to earn more minutes, the winger’s performances didn’t quite live up to expectations. Then, in January, RB Leipzig swooped in.
Leipzig are far from universally popular in Germany, but few can deny their ability to develop players, particularly in attack. The summer before Gruda’s arrival, the club sold Xavi Simons, Benjamin Šeško, and Loïs Openda to Tottenham, Manchester United, and Juventus, respectively. Admittedly, none of those are particularly inspiring in retrospect, but in all cases, Leipzig were rewarded on the field and then financially.
When Gruda became available, Leipzig pounced, signing the German on a dry loan (that is to say, a loan without a buy option). The move benefited all parties: Brighton wanted to raise his stock, Gruda wanted minutes, and Leipzig needed a short-term addition to fix a thin attack. Gruda hit the ground running, recording a goal and an assist in only his second start with the club in a 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg.
The Brighton loanee finished the Bundesliga season with three goals and three assists in thirteen games, prompting Leipzig to push to bring him back. With Brighton willing to move on, Gruda joined Leipzig on loan once again, with Florian Plettenberg reporting a buy obligation in the deal.
He returned to a much-changed Leipzig side. In his first stint with the club, Gruda often played more centrally, featuring as an attacking midfielder with Yann Diomande on the right. In the summer, though, Diomande made a big-money move to Real Madrid, allowing Gruda to return to his natural right-wing position. Manager Ole Werner was also sacked, with the inexperienced Martín Demichelis taking over.
So far, the move has been a big hit. Gruda has taken on more responsibility and is the joint leader in successful dribbles per 90 in the Bundesliga, with Leipzig scoring a combined eight goals in his first two starts. He also has goals in the DFB Pokal and in the Champions League, and Leipzig have a 100% record when Gruda has played at least a half hour.
That is the one real concern — health. The 22-year-old did deal with some minor injury issues in England, but it’s proving to be a real issue early this season. Gruda was left out of the squad against Werder Bremen with an injury and was subsequently limited to a bench cameo against Como in a Champions League loss. Ten days later, he was forced off the pitch after just 26 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen with another knock. Leipzig lost 2-0.
It was that same injury that has denied Gruda a chance to make his first Germany appearance. Jürgen Klopp made a bold decision to call up a total of 44 players for Die Mannschaft’s four Nations League games, including some truly rogue shouts. The Leipzig star would have been one of the more deserving players, but regrettably will have to wait once again.
However, Gruda has proved to be resilient thus far. It should not be a surprise for fans if, tuning in to a Germany game in the near future, the RB Leipzig star is on the right flank, running the show alongside the likes of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. It seems like a matter of when, not if.
