Stuttgart Race to Secure Deniz Undav Before World Cup
VfB Stuttgart are staring at a brutal reality: either they tie Deniz Undav down now, or they risk watching the most prolific striker they have had in years walk away for nothing.
Time is not on their side.
If no agreement is reached before Undav heads off to the World Cup, negotiations will be “put on hold for the time being”. That pause would effectively kill any chance of extending his deal beyond 2027 this summer and open the door to a nightmare scenario. From 1 January, the Germany international can legally sit down with other clubs and shape his future without Stuttgart at the table.
The club know exactly what is at stake. So they are going back in, harder.
Club-record offer on the table
According to Bild, Stuttgart’s hierarchy will place a second, significantly improved proposal in front of Undav before the weekend. The first offer, a three-year extension with an option to 2030, landed on his desk at the start of May. He turned it down.
This time, CEO Alexander Wehrle and sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth are armed with the biggest package VfB have ever put together. The supervisory board has already signed off on the framework: a basic salary in the region of €5.5–6 million per year, up from around €4.5 million, plus a €3 million signing bonus. For Stuttgart, those are historic numbers.
They are paying like a Champions League club because Undav has been playing like a Champions League striker.
Twenty-five goals. Fourteen assists. A season that dragged VfB up a level and inevitably drew glances from richer clubs abroad, clubs for whom a monster signing-on fee and an even bigger wage packet would barely register.
A striker settled – but in demand
Inside the club, there is at least one encouraging sign. Undav has told Stuttgart’s decision-makers that he is open to committing his long-term future to VfB. He and his family feel at home, both in the dressing room and in the city. For a player in his prime, that matters.
But sentiment only stretches so far when the market comes calling.
His numbers have put him in a different bracket. Overseas sides with deeper pockets are circling, sensing an opportunity. If Stuttgart cannot close this deal before the World Cup, they risk going into the winter with their star forward six months away from being able to leave for free, and with agents and intermediaries whispering in his ear.
That is why this week feels pivotal.
Star man at VfB, super-sub for Germany
The irony is striking. At club level, Undav is the focal point, the man everything revolves around. With Germany, he is pencilled in as the supporting act.
Julian Nagelsmann sees Kai Havertz as his first-choice centre-forward. In recent friendlies, Undav has even sat behind Nick Woltemade in the pecking order, despite the Newcastle United striker struggling for form and nowhere near matching Undav’s output in front of goal.
Undav did what he always seems to do when the stakes rise. He made himself impossible to ignore.
In the second friendly against Ghana, he proved decisive, underlining again why his stock has soared this season. After the match, he did not hide his ambition and spoke publicly about his hope of earning a starting role for the national team.
That honesty lit a fuse.
Nagelsmann responded with remarks aimed at the VfB forward that raised eyebrows and questions in equal measure. The national coach later rowed back, apologising to Undav personally. The striker has since confirmed that the relationship between the two remains intact.
Decision time
So Undav heads into the World Cup in a curious position: talisman for his club, understudy for his country, and the subject of the biggest contract offer Stuttgart have ever made.
The pressure is clear. Sign now and he becomes the well-paid face of VfB’s project for years to come. Wait, and the open market beckons in January, with all the power shifting to the player’s side of the table.
Stuttgart have pushed their chips to the middle. The next move belongs to Undav.
