As is well known, Julian Brandt is available on a free transfer. Could a return to the Bundesliga be on the cards?Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer Leverkusen, has fuelled speculation about Julian Brandt’s possible return to the Werkself.When asked on DAZN ahead of Saturday afternoon’s Bundesliga match against FC Bayern Munich whether Brandt might be seen back in a Bayer jersey from the summer onwards, Carro initially replied: “You’ll have to ask Simon Rolfes about that. Simon Rolfes is in charge of squad planning; he’s our sporting director and the one who ultimately has to make the decision.”Carro then did not rule out a return for the Dortmund player, at least: “I think Julian Brandt is sensational. If Simon wants him, I will definitely support that. But Simon has to set the parameters,” said the 61-year-old.Brandt will not be extending his contract with Borussia Dortmund, which expires at the end of the season, and will leave BVB on a free transfer in the summer. After Dortmund’s sporting director Lars Ricken recently confirmed this, speculation about the 29-year-old’s future has gathered pace.Whether Leverkusen stands any chance of signing Brandt is doubtful in light of recent reports from Bild and Sky. According to these reports, the midfielder is said to prefer a move abroad, with England, Italy or Spain reportedly on his mind. Aston Villa are said to be persistently courting Brandt, whilst Sky recently brought two top-tier clubs – Arsenal and Barcelona – into the mix.Should Brandt decide to stay in the Bundesliga after all, Leverkusen would certainly be one of the few realistic options. Whilst Werder Bremen are said to be dreaming of signing the Bremen-born player – who, however, has never played for SVW – this is unlikely to be financially feasible.It was in Leverkusen that Brandt first made the leap to the Bundesliga as a 17-year-old, after Bayer had signed him from VfL Wolfsburg’s youth academy shortly before. He remained at SVB for five and a half years, scoring 42 goals in 215 appearances for Leverkusen. In 2019, Brandt finally moved to Dortmund for a transfer fee of €25 million.At Bayer, Brandt could slot in well within manager Kasper Hjulmand’s preferred system featuring a double-ten and potentially form a highly creative attacking trio with Malik Tillman or Ibrahima Maza. At BVB, he is playing a similar role this season and has been a key figure under manager Niko Kovac, although he has not always been a guaranteed starter.Leverkusen has just gone through a massive upheaval. With Jonathan Tah, Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka, Jeremie Frimpong and Lukas Hradecky, many of the key players from the 2023/24 title-winning season are no longer there, and a large number of new players have joined ahead of this season. Furthermore, as is well known, successful manager Xabi Alonso left last summer.“We are currently in a transitional year with 13 new signings and have just a third of Bayern’s budget,” said Carro, commenting on the current situation, in which the club is in the thick of the battle for Champions League places, yet another title win seems a distant prospect given the huge gap to league leaders FC Bayern. Speaking about the club’s medium-term plans, Leverkusen’s boss explained: “We won’t be able to trouble Bayern every year – but our aim is to build the next championship-winning team now.” According to Carro, this team could be ready by the 2028/29 season to potentially snatch the German league title from FCB once again.Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting