Vitaly Janelt (born 10 May 1998) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Brentford.

Janelt is a product of the Hamburger SV and RB Leipzig academies and made his professional breakthrough at VfL Bochum in 2017, before moving to England to join Brentford in 2020.

[2] Prior to Janelt's departure from the Red Bull Arena at the end of the 2017–18 season,[3] disciplinary issues led to him spending 18 months away on loan.

[3] Janelt looked set to make a breakthrough late in the 2018–19 season, before a torn adductor ruled him out of the final eight matches of the campaign.

[2][15] Janelt retained his place throughout the campaign and finished Brentford's 2021 EFL Championship play-off final-winning 2020–21 season with 47 appearances and four goals.

[18] Aside from missing one month due to a thigh injury suffered in October 2021,[18][19] Janelt continued in his virtual ever-present role and signed a new four-year contract on 1 April 2022.

[18] Janelt began the 2022–23 season primarily in a substitute role and he captained the club for the first time during a 2–0 EFL Cup second round win over Colchester United on 23 August 2022.