FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
As of Monday, Brajan Gruda is officially a Leipzig player, at least until May. The Albanian striker, who plays for the German U-21 national team, hopes that through appearances with the Bundesliga team, he will also earn an invitation to the World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
From the start, Gruda has attracted attention not only with his transfer, but also with the way he arrived at Leipzig. Together with a friend, he traveled around 1,050 kilometers from Brighton, in the south of England, to Leipzig by car.
" It all happened a little too quickly. I'll only be here for six months and I needed some personal things, so it was worth filling up the car ," he explained during a press conference, adding that the trip was long but smooth.
The 21-year-old striker is now in Leipzig, where he aims to return to the level that made him one of the discoveries of the 2023-2024 season with Mainz and that put him on the radar of the Premier League. At Brighton, although he recorded 18 appearances in the championship this season, he started only eight of them, failing to secure a consistent role.
With Leipzig, Gruda is aiming for more minutes. “ I have always been in contact with Leipzig. The club and the style of play suit me ,” he said. Gruda sees himself in the 4-3-3 system as a “right midfielder,” but emphasizes that he can also play in the center or on the wing. “ The main thing is to help the team and restore self-confidence. My goal is to contribute to Europe and for myself to gain playing time .”
Although he failed to become a regular starter in England, Gruda appreciates the experience abroad. “ On a personal level, it helped me a lot. Living alone was something new for me ,” he said, adding that his English, which was not strong at the beginning, has now improved significantly. For those who think it would have been better if he had stayed at Mainz in the summer of 2024, Gruda responds firmly: “ It was my decision, I saw it through to the end and I don’t regret anything .”
Now, under coach Ole Werner, he aims to earn a starting place and enrich Leipzig's game with his unorthodox style and one-on-one skills. His future after the end of the loan, which costs around one million euros, remains open. " First I want to settle in, train and get to know everything ," said Leipzig's new number 10.
Above all, Gruda wants to do his talking on the pitch. Meanwhile, the World Cup is not far from his mind. “ I would be lying if I said I didn’t have that as a goal ,” he admitted. In May 2024, Gruda was part of coach Julian Nagelsmann’s extended list ahead of the European Championship and hopes that this will not be his last experience with the national team.
For now, the focus is on the Bundesliga. Leipzig face Cologne on Sunday and Gruda feels ready. " I think I'm 100 percent prepared. I feel very good, but the decision is made by the coach ," he concluded.
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