Leeds United are exploring deals for free agents Julian Brandt and Harry Wilson.
The Elland Road outfit are keen to reinforce the squad’s attacking department this summer and have identified the pair as targets they are keen to land.
Brandt, 30, and Wilson, 29, will each see their contracts, at Borussia Dortmund and Fulham respectively, expire at the end of this month. Leeds sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, expect the competition to be fierce for such high-calibre players who require no transfer fee.
Brandt, capped 48 times by Germany, has made 383 appearances in the Bundesliga and 82 in the Champions League. In 10 of his previous 11 seasons in Germany’s top flight, Brandt has broken double figures for goals and assists combined.
He is a right-footed attacker, who has played across the width of the pitch throughout his career, but predominantly played as an inside No 10 off the right or left with Dortmund last term. In the 3-4-2-1 Daniel Farke finished last season with, Brandt would ideally fit as one of the two behind a striker.
The graphic below shows he was an effective playmaker for Dortmund in 2025-26, dropping into pockets to receive the ball and create chances. His dribble success and goal threat, across his European peers, underline the quality Leeds would be adding if they were successful.
United’s interest in Wilson is far less of a surprise. The Fulham man was primed for a switch to Elland Road on the final day of last summer’s transfer window, only for the transfer to collapse at the 11th hour.
The Wales international would go on to have the best season of his career, with 10 goals and seven assists in the Premier League. Only seven players were involved in more goals across the entire division.
Leeds pursued Wilson last summer as the left-footed playmaker they wanted to drift in off the right flank. That remains a need in the current squad.
Leeds targeting an area of desperate need
Analysis by Leeds correspondent Beren Cross
The messaging inside Leeds off the back of last season illustrated a desire to retain the core and floor of the squad, while raising the ceiling with difference-makers in the final third. The emergence of Brandt’s name absolutely ticks that box.
He may be two or three years older than the profile of player Leeds were looking at last summer, but he is hardly over the hill at 30. Brandt has also gone beyond 2,000 league minutes in eight of his last 10 campaigns, too, which shows how durable and robust he has been over a long period.
Undoubtedly, a player with this profile requiring no transfer fee is going to be wanted by loads of clubs across Europe’s top divisions. It’s a really ambitious idea from United and sets the bar very high for what else they may pursue this summer.
They are badly in need of creative playmakers who can pick a defensive lock or do something unexpected and Wilson would only add to that, if they finally landed him. There is understandable competition for his signature, too.
Leeds do hold an advantage in the quantity of international team-mates they have waiting for Wilson in West Yorkshire. They will also hope their long-standing interest in him, before last year’s career year, can go some way to turning his head.
What Brandt could offer
Analysis by German soccer writer Seb Stafford-Bloor
Brandt has needed a move for some time. His Dortmund career was not without its high points, but a change of scenery has been necessary for a few years now, with the suspicion that he had gone stale in his surroundings; it was no surprise that his contract was not renewed.
He’s still a decadently gifted playmaker, capable of producing highlights and winning games. Can he do that consistently? Dortmund fans will say not and wherever he lands next, that will be one of the big questions.
Primarily, Brandt is a carrier and someone who depends on touch and technique to exert influence, but his passing is good enough to create chances and in the right system, surrounded by foils who bring out his best, he can produce goals, too.
There’s a very, very good player there somewhere, but he will need finding.
