Brajan Gruda returns to RB Leipzig on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion
Brajan Gruda has returned to RB Leipzig on a renewed loan deal from Brighton and Hove Albion for the 2026/27 season.
Gruda, 22, spent the second half of 2025/26 on loan at the Red Bull Arena, scoring three goals and providing three assists in 13 Bundesliga appearances as Leipzig secured third place and a return to the UEFA Champions League.
Watch: Gruda starred in a big Leipzig win over Hoffenheim
The Mainz youth product will now spend the whole of this coming campaign with Die Roten Bullen, who are now under Martín Demichelis after the Argentine succeeded Ole Werner as head coach.
"He showed his quality and how good a fit he is to our game in his first months here. Brajan is technically good, creative, has good speed and enriches our attack with his abilities in the final third," said Leipzig's managing director Marcel Schäfer of the deal.
"It was quickly obvious to me that I wanted to stay at RB Leipzig. The style of play is really good for me. I feel very much at home in the team and club as a whole. We qualified again for the Champions League and want success there, as well as in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup," added the Germany U21 international, who will again wear the No.10 shirt, having previously appeared 30 times for Mainz in the Bundesliga before his 2024 move to Brighton, where he scored two goals in 39 English Premier League outings.
Leipzig kick off their 2026/27 Bundesliga campaign with a home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 29/30 August. Their first competitive fixture under Demichelis is against Eintracht Trier in the DFB Cup on 22 August, following pre-season friendlies against the likes of Leeds United and Bayern Munich.
