Brajan Gruda is back at RB Leipzig for the 2026/27 season on a renewed loan, and the club are selling it as a fit that already worked. He scored 3 goals and provided 3 assists in 13 Bundesliga appearances during the second half of 2025/26, then said it was “quickly obvious” he wanted to stay.
Why Leipzig moved quickly
Marcel Schäfer did not hide the reason behind the return. He said Gruda “showed his quality and how good a fit he is to our game in his first months here,” adding that he is “technically good, creative, has good speed and enriches our attack with his abilities in the final third.” That is a pretty clear endorsement for a player who was not around long before Leipzig moved again.
The production helped, too. Six direct goal involvements in 13 league games is the sort of return that gives a loan spell real momentum, especially when it comes alongside praise for style fit rather than just raw output. Gruda also said the “style of play is really good for me” and that he feels “very much at home in the team and club as a whole.”
The wider Leipzig context
Leipzig finished 3rd in the 2025/26 Bundesliga with 65 points from 34 matches, so this is not a club making a speculative move for depth. They are bringing back a player who has already shown he can contribute in Germany, and they will do it with Gruda in the No.10 shirt again.
His recent level backs up the decision. Gruda averaged 7.9 across his last 10 recorded matches, and his standout performance came with a perfect 10 rating against 1899 Hoffenheim on 20 March 2026. Those are not numbers you usually associate with a player still bedding in.
Gruda’s own comments fit the same picture. He said Leipzig had already qualified for the Champions League again and want success there, as well as in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup. The move is framed as a continuation of what started well in his first spell, and Leipzig’s decision to bring him back suggests they agree.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →