Brajan Gruda becomes one of the new stars in the Bundesliga in the 2023-24 season. Although Mainz made brilliant achievements at the end of the season and barely survived the relegation, Gruda also won plaudits for himself even though his team seemed to be dying. The strong end of this season enabled the young man to be called up and train with Germany before Euro 2024. This young attacker has been a member of the Mainz Youth Team since 2018. After impressing U19, he made his debut in the Bundesliga at the age of 18 in the 2022-23 season. At the end of the season, he won a U19 Bundesliga championship medal and a place in the first team. Gruda is an all-around left footed attacker who is most comfortable on the right wing.
Under the leadership of Svensen, Mainz is a very exciting team, but the coach lost his magic in the 23-24 season, the former club of Klopp fell sharply in the championship, and the Dane was finally replaced by compatriot Henriksen. However, when most of his teammates were in trouble, Gruda performed well in the game. At the beginning of October 2023, Gruda scored a goal for Mainz in the match against Menchengladbach, which was his first goal in the Bundesliga. Mainz did not surrender, but made an attempt to attack. Gruda was in a dilemma. With his fast pace and insatiable offensive instinct, he frightened the Bavarian team's defense and got an assist - although his team was finally defeated.
The young man showed youthful vitality and indifference when playing football, which made him one of the most interesting talents in Germany - Thomas Muller also realized this. After the match with Bayern, the German legend asked to exchange jerseys with Gruda and proudly displayed his trophy on social media, telling the young man to continue his efforts and telling the world that he is a football player. Several physical problems eventually disrupted the young man's rhythm and momentum, but Gruda once again assisted in the game against Bayern Munich, which was the only star in Mainz's dark day. Mainz lost 1-8. Mainz finally created a small miracle and saved himself from the quagmire. Gruda played a vital role in achieving this goal. In the last six Bundesliga appearances of the 23-24 season, the attacker scored three goals and assisted once to ensure the safety of the team. Gruda finally ended the season with four goals and three assists, which is not an eye-catching data, but enough to make the upper echelons of football pay attention to this point.
As a cunning winger, Gruda, 19, is a different player. He is not afraid to compete with others. Due to the vulnerability of players such as Sane and Genabri, the German team often lacks this skill. With this in mind, the head coach of the national team Nagelsman called on Gruda to train with the senior team before the Euro 2024. Unless the key player is injured, the young player is unlikely to participate in the game at home, but this shows that Nagelsmann's evaluation of the U21 international is really high. Gruda has several suitors in Germany and Britain. Bayern are said to be "very eager" to sign the winger, while Liverpool, Aston Villa and Newcastle are also interested.
