Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to go head-to-head against arch-rivals Arsenal over the signature of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt in the summer, as per the German outlet Bild.
The 26-year-old moved to the Signal Iduna Park back in 2019 from fellow German side Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of around £22m, though has struggled to showcase his best in the Dortmund colours, up until last season.
He has been enjoying a stellar campaign this term, scoring eight goals and notching up four assists in 22 Bundesliga appearances, helping his side in placing themselves at the joint top with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga table.
Brandt has entered the final 18 months of his current contract and is yet to renew his deal with BVB. So, speculation surrounding his future continues to grow and potential suitors such as Tottenham and Arsenal are looking to take advantage of this situation.
According to the report by Bild (via BuliNews), Edin Terzic’s side are keen on keeping hold of their star and want to tie him down into a new long-term deal. But, Tottenham haven’t been put off by that and are ‘desperate’ to sign Brandt at the end of this season.
Battle
However, the report claims that the Lilywhites are set to face a stern challenge in getting any potential deal done as Arsenal are also eager to lure the midfielder away from Signal Iduna Park.
The 26-year-old previously expressed his desire of playing in the Premier League, so a summer move to North London could be on the cards.
Antonio Conte’s side are reportedly looking to strengthen their squad at the end of this season and signing a creative midfielder is seemingly on their agenda.
On the other hand, Arsenal are also exploring the possibility of bolstering their engine room for next season and have been linked with several midfielders in recent times, with Brandt being the new addition to that list.
The German is technically sound, can play threading passes between the lines, has the ability to create chances for the forward players, has an eye for scoring goals and also can contribute defensively as well. So, he would be a very good acquisition for both Tottenham and Arsenal if either club manage to get this deal done.
However, having already got Martin Odegaard, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe in their ranks, the Gunners don’t need more additions in their attacking midfield department.
Therefore, Tottenham could be a better destination for Brandt – valued at around £25m by Transfermarkt – over Arsenal if he were to leave Borussia Dortmund following at the end of the season.
