Sports stars on the move
The complicated squad planning of VfB Stuttgart
As of: 10:08 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
By Julian Agardi, Tobias Altschäffl
Sought-after Stuttgart residents: Deniz Undav (l.) and Chris Führich
Quelle: Getty Images/Christof Koepsel
VfB Stuttgart is clearly on course for the Champions League. As is often the case, success has its downsides. Stars like Undav, Guirassy and Führich are in demand and could earn significantly more elsewhere. At VfB they know that they can’t keep everyone.
VfB Stuttgart is working on its new squad for the Champions League – and hasn’t had to invest a single euro in it yet. With Yannik Keitel (24/SC Freiburg), Justin Diehl (19/1. FC Köln) and Nick Woltemade (22/Werder Bremen), CEO Alexander Wehrle and sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth have already made three summer additions. They all come free after the season, VfB pays no transfer fee!
Good for the Swabians, because the premier class coal is urgently needed elsewhere. The fixed starting fee that Stuttgart, who are in third place in the Bundesliga, would receive for qualifying for the Champions League is 18.62 million euros.
Money that should primarily be invested in players who are currently there. Stuttgart definitely want to keep Deniz Undav (27), who is on loan from English club Brighton & Hove Albion. The purchase option, which can increase to around 20 million euros depending on the success bonuses, is too high for the traditional club, which is still financially tight.
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The striker is also demanding a hefty salary increase. Undav currently earns an estimated two million euros a year; with his new contract, VfB would probably have to pay around five million euros a year. Discussions about a possible permanent commitment between both clubs and the Undav side should not begin until the end of April at the earliest. When it is clear how much money VfB can plan with in the summer.
Führich was courted by FC Bayern and BVB
The future of Undav’s storm partner Serhou Guirassy (28) is also open. The Guinean scored 24 goals in 22 league games this season, equaling Mario Gomez’s club record (38). Guirassy is currently the top earner in Stuttgart (estimated at 3.5 million euros), and there was interest in him in the winter primarily from the Premier League. It is extremely unlikely that VfB will be able to keep him beyond the summer.
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The same applies to Chris Führich (26). The left winger only has to decide whether he would rather move to Bayern or BVB. Because of an exit clause of 23 million euros, VfB no longer has any control over Führich’s whereabouts.
Things are different for goalkeeper Alexander Nübel (27). His loan from FC Bayern ends after the end of the season. At the moment there is a lot to be said for continued employment at VfB. Prerequisite for this: FC Bayern extends Nübel’s contract again (currently until 2025) and loans him out to VfB again.
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That’s exactly how it should happen. Both parties have agreed on this deal. Read here:
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The text was researched for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, SPORT BILD, BILD) and first published in SPORT BILD.
