The RB Leipzig winger joins an experimental 44-man squad as the former Liverpool boss launches a new era, handing the former youth star his long-awaited international debut.
RB Leipzig winger Brajan Gruda has earned his first senior Germany call-up as Jürgen Klopp begins a new era with an expanded squad for the Nations League.
For Brajan Gruda, the wait is finally over.
Die Roten Bullen winger has been selected by Jürgen Klopp for Germany's upcoming Nations League campaign, earning his first senior call-up after years of moving through the country's youth setup without making the final step to the national team. The DFB confirmed Gruda's inclusion on Thursday as Klopp named an unusually large 44-player pool across two squads for four matches.
Gruda will join the second group, which comes together for Germany's matches against Serbia on October 1 and Greece on October 4. Sky Sports' Florian Plettenberg had anticipated the decision, reporting before the announcement that Gruda would be among the new faces Klopp wanted to bring into the national-team environment.
For Leipzig, it is another indication of how quickly Gruda's career has begun to move again.
The 22-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Leipzig after joining Brighton from Mainz. He scored three goals and supplied three assists in 14 appearances, performances that convinced Leipzig to bring him back for the entire 2026/27 campaign.
Now the reward is a place in Klopp's Germany.
Gruda's route to this point has not been entirely straightforward. He represented Germany at the youth level and scored three goals in 20 appearances for the Under-21s, but he never made his senior debut. He was previously called into Julian Nagelsmann's Germany squad for a friendly but never took the pitch.
That changes the significance of Klopp's decision.
The new Germany coach has made it clear that this extended international period is an opportunity to assess a broad group of players. Rather than naming one conventional squad for the four fixtures, Klopp has selected 44 players and split them between two groups, allowing him to assess a much larger pool during a prolonged international window.
Gruda is therefore not being brought into a settled team simply to fill a place. He is part of the first wave of players Klopp wants to see for himself.
That matters for a young player who has spent much of his career being described in terms of potential.
At Leipzig, he now has the opportunity to turn that potential into something more tangible. His return to the club gave him a platform. His performances earned him another season in the Bundesliga. Klopp's call-up provides the next one.
The first senior cap is now within reach.
And for Gruda, after coming so close before, that may be the most important part of all.
