Julian Brandt to join Borussia Dortmund

The 23-year-old joined the Werkself in 2014 and he made 215 appearances for Bayer 04. "Julian joined us as a 17-year-old at a time when he was sought after by a lot of clubs but he opted to play for us and he has developed wonderfully since then making his international debut during his time in Leverkusen," said sporting managing director Rudi Völler. "With him, our approach of bringing through young, highly talented players early at a top level, achieving a lot with them and thereby significantly increasing their transfer value worked out too. We would have liked to have held onto him a bit longer," declared Völler, "but with the signing of Kerem Demirbay from Hoffenheim we have already found a suitable replacement." 

Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes said, "Over the past few months, Julian has matured into a top player in a different position under coach Peter Bosz. Now he has decided to play somewhere else after five and a half years. We have already reacted to that in terms of personnel," said Rolfes. "And we will continue to strengthen our squad to maintain our competitiveness next season."