Mainz winger Brajan Gruda has decided he wants to take the next step in his career this summer, with Aston Villa and Liverpool keen on a star who has been dubbed like Andres Iniesta.
Gruda is a player in demand in the ongoing transfer window, but it was unclear just how set he was on leaving Mainz.
The 20-year-old has now, according to German magazine SportBild (via FCB Inside), decided that he does want to move to a bigger club this summer.
Aston Villa and Liverpool are both mentioned as being interested in Gruda, while Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen are options within Germany.
Gruda is keen to make sure that wherever he moves to he will have ample opportunities to play, which could work against Bayern Munich.
The Bavarians are set to add Michael Olise and Xavi Simons to the squad, something which would mean greater competition for Gruda at the Allianz Arena.
Mainz could also demand as much as €50m for the 20-year-old, an amount that his Bundesliga suitors would likely be unwilling to pay.
That could put Aston Villa and Liverpool in pole position, if they are willing to fork out the sum requested by Mainz.
Whoever does get Gruda though could get a huge, huge talent, with comparisons with Spain and Barcelona legend Iniesta having been made by the official Bundesliga website.
The publication dubbed him like Andres Iniesta in his play and explained: “Both possess superb close control, technique and balance along with the vision to pick out a long-range pass and ability to take on, and outpace, opponents. And just just like Iniesta, Gruda also boasts a mean shot.”
