Bundesliga 2025/26 Tactical Previews: VfB Stuttgart | OneFootball

The 15th installment of our Bundesliga tactical previews to be released here on Get German Football News takes a look at VfB Stuttgart. The Cannstatter head into the season having just contested their second DFL Supercup. The sensational second place during the 2023/24 campaign earned the Swabians that honor while last year’s Pokal capture once again pitted them against the league champions. A club only just promoted back to the Bundesliga in 2020 (and embroiled in the relegation campaigns in 2022 and 2023) ended up losing both encounters.

Obviously enough, the big question heading into this year’s action revolves around whether Stuttgart can hope to keep their place among the German elite clubs. The strength of the roster does render this possible. A lot still has to go right for the BaWü boys if they wish to cement a high place in the table. There’s a grueling Europa League campaign beckoning and lots of unexpected personnel shifts to deal with. The Eintracht Frankfurt installment listed Stuttgart’s south German neighbors as title contenders. That’s not the case here.

VfB Stuttgart

There’s much of interest to report on when it comes to this team. Amid all of the Nick Woltemade insanity, the front-office team of Christian Gentner and Fabian Wohlgemuth have engaged in some interesting personnel maneuvering over the course of the offseason. VfB trainer Sebastian Hoeneß has also overseen some surprising developments in training camp. Tipping the season with all this going on remains anything but easy. One can say for certain that the campaign definitely won’t be boring. Hoeneß just has too much to sort through here before the squad stabilizes.

Major personnel shifts, Stuttgart

Estimated summer transfer balance = +€4.65 million

The DFB-Pokal winners began the summer with a bang, signing defender Lorenz Assignon from Stade Rennes for a record fee. The next blockbuster would nevertheless not come until Tiago Tomas’ services were secured just last week. In between that those of us working the beat had to deal with a plethora of busted deals, not to mention 546,789 stories involving Nick Woltemade. Ugh. Sometimes the two would actually merge. Coverage of this club this offseason consisted mostly of deals that didn’t happen and were never likely to happen in the first place.

Stuttgart did secure some prospects for the future in the form of Noah Darvich, Chema Andrés, and Lazar Jovanovic. Some needed sales were completed, with South Korean attacker Woo-Yeong Jeong finally being permanently sold to 1. FC Union Berlin, Colombian striker Juan José Perea at long last offloaded, and Danish winger Jacob Bruun Larsen gotten the hell out of German football. The Swabians netted about €4m apiece for Jeong and Bruun Larsen while Perea’s contract was terminated by mutual consent.

A couple of sales that one felt were destined to falter like the rest of bunch did actually go through. After he initially failed a Salzburg medical, Stuttgart did eventually fetch €2m for defender Anrie Chase from the Austrian Red Bulls. After a million-and-five erroneous rumors, Enzo Millot eventually moved to the Arabian Peninsula for a sizable fee. Phrew. The club also shaved some dead weight off the roster by selling striker Luca Pfeiffer and winger Luca Raimund to 2. Bundesliga outfits. Striker Tomas Kastanaras was demoted to VfB II.

Notes from camp, Stuttgart

The Württembergers opted to allow several regulars – most notably Woltemade to report to camp late. A lot of the first team hadn’t reported yet when the team beat Fellbach 7-1 in an early July friendly. That match was somewhat noteworthy in that defender Dan Axel Zagaou made a comeback, only to go on and get hurt again shorty thereafter. The club organized a snap test-scrimmage against PSV Eindhoven which was played behind closed doors. Stuttgart played two 45 minute halves and an extra 15 minute “push session”.

Jovanovic, Jeff Chabot, and Mohamed Sankoh (why not?) were among those scoring in what finished a 4-4 draw against the Dutch champs. It is reported that most of the regulars played. Premier League target Jamie Leweling then scored in a 2-1 public exhibition win over Celta Vigo in Reutlingen. Leweling, Chabot, and Jovanovic all scored again in a 6-0 rout of Toulouse. So too did Leweling’s fellow Premier League target Ermedin Demirovic, who actually grabbed a brace. Chris Führich was the final player to get his name on the scoresheet in the fourth test.

Stuttgart opened up the MHP-Arena for the final friendly of the pre-season. Bologna came to town and defeated the hosts 1-0. The hosting Cannstatter never really got into the flow against their Serie A opponents in a match that was pretty choppy on both sides for the first hour, then without any sort of flow once the substitutes began pouring on. Woltemade and Chabot had some near misses. That was about all.

Winners from camp, Stuttgart

Luca Jaquez, CB

So what’s the story here? Simply stated, one of a player who always flew under the proverbial radar. His signing during the most recent transfer window was treated as something of an afterthought. Some speculated that VfB sporting director Christian Gentner just wanted to bring in a former FC Luzern player for sentimental reasons. In hindsight, after a couple of strong starts last spring, it should come as no surprise to learn that the 22-year-old earned his chance in camp and took it. Jaquez is used to working in the shadows for both club and country.

Whether it was being eclipsed by famous club teammate Ardon Jashari or playing third fiddle on a packed Swiss national team, this nimble and spry little talent knows how to thrive out of the spotlight. Whether or not Jaquez will be in the spotlight regularly this season remains to be seen. Competition remains fierce in central defense with Assignon, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Finn Jeltsch, Ramon Hendriks, and (one can dream anyway) Zagadou still competing for minutes. He’ll have to keep up the hard work. Great stuff thus far.

Jeff Chabot, CB

An excellent camp from a player with a highly intriguing story. Just six months removed from scoring his first Bundesliga goal, the Hanau-native can’t seem to stop knocking them in during training camp. Everything went right for the 27-year-old, save a tepid performance in the Supercup of course. With all the strange goings-on in the VfB defensive corps, Chabot emerges as the most reliable stalwart at this position. He’s been incredibly strong in duels both on the ground and in the air and can, like always, serve as a deadly late-match striker in a pinch.

Josha Vagnoman, RB

Sitting on an expiring contract, no one expected much of anything from the 24-year-old this season. Despite the fact that an injury to Leonidas Stergiou opened the door for Vagnoman, Assignon’s presence surely ensured that he wouldn’t get another trial at right back. The Hamburg native and now once-capped German international has nevertheless fought his way back. He was one of the brightest spots on the pitch during the Bologna friendly and earned a start in the Supercup. There are whispers that he might be signed to a contract extension soon.

Chris Führich, RW

Führich – along with his fellow surprise German international Deniz Undav – turned in a disappointing season for his Bundesliga club last year. Unlike Undav, the 27-year-old wasn’t really able to rectify matters towards the end either. The Castrop-Rauxel-native now hopes to make a fresh start. El Bilal Tour’é’s departure enabled him to inherit the No. 10 tricot and he did score a fine goal in pre-season. It might be the case that Tomas’ arrival means that Führich is ultimately headed for the exits. If a strong camp leads to a better move elsewhere, he can be considered a “winner”.

Ermedin Demirovic, CF

On the topic of strong camps leading to career advancement, the Bosnian has proven an absolute beast throughout the preparation and may be on his way to the Isle. Stuttgart could cash in on this 27-year-old as they already have flexible attackers up front in Deniz Undav and Nick Woltemade who can excel at both the nine and ten positions. A natural number nine is, of course, an asset. Still, it might be time to strike when the iron is hot as pertains to Demirovic. The author will add that a Bundesliga without both Demirovic and the striker he was once traded for, Freiburg’s Michael Gregoritsch, will feel weird.

Lazar Jovanovic, RW

The 18-year-old has made an immediate impact in both the friendlies we can scout and the ones conducted behind closed doors. Hopes are high that this ultra-talented Serbian youth international will catch on here. Ideally, Jovanovic can deliver precisely the opposite Stuttgart career as his fellow young compatriot Jovan Milosevic. It’s early yet, but signs point to Jovanovic being the anti-thesis of Milosevic. Looking forward to watching this teenage talent get some minutes off the bench this season.

Losers from camp, Stuttgart

Nick Woltemade, LS

We’ll flit through this section rather quickly as there isn’t too much to talk about from a performance perspective. Of course, the “German Wolverine” will deliver a fine season for his current Bundesliga outfit. Of course, Bayern will find a way to sign him next summer unless something unforeseen occurs. One doesn’t necessarily have to feel horrible about that. Stuttgart’s principled stand in Woltemade’s case did enable Germans to feel some twinges of pride. It’s just that the way in which this summer transfer saga wrapped up ultimately made those of us who love the German game feel like losers.

The influence of money and shady power brokers adversely affects our football just like it does everyone else. There’s no real need for us to pretend that we have the purest league in the world. It’s still never pleasant to watch a popular player try and force a last-minute-deal the way Woltemade and his agent did. Woltemade deserves to be jeered all year by the VfB supporters for the manner in which he tried to leverage his celebrity this offseason. At the very least, he could have released some statements displaying class and distancing himself from all this nonsense.

Lorenz Assignon, CB

The German press have done well to respectfully lay off whatever “personal problems” the big new summer signing is going through. Something private is up. Perhaps it’s something salacious, but we’re still not going to talk about it. Assignon can choose to talk about it if he wishes. For the time being, all that really matters is that the 25-year-old’s integration into the team has been delayed. It is known that Assignon hasn’t picked up his signing bonus yet, suggesting that the player himself isn’t trying to raid the silver cabinet. We’ll just all wait and see.

Finn Jeltsch, CB

A €20m-valued player prepares to ride the bench this season. Like in the case of Jaquez, we really shouldn’t be surprised given what we saw from Jeltsch last season. This really counts as a strange development. The highly-skilled Germany U19 international was supposed to leapfrog the Germany U21s entirely and go straight to Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann. Perhaps the leap from the 2. Bundesliga to the elite division proved too much of a jump. The 19-year-old needs to take it one hurdle at a time.

Justin Diehl, LW

Time shall tell which of the young VfB prospects will be keep on the professional squad for selection on the Europa League roster. For the time being, we can compose one o those “amalgam sections” of the ones likely to be loaned out or sparsely used. Andres, Darvich, and Justin Diehl belong to this cohort. It looks to be the case that Diehl (linked with VfL Bochum) is the only one likely to be loaned out, however. We could see Darvich and Andres in action in the UEL.

Silas, RW/LW

If endless Woltemade stories over the course of the summer constitute the most annoying part of covering this club, Silas pieces come in a close second. The cold hard fact about the popular Congo DR international is that this truly is the “end of the line”. Stuttgart don’t want him and will terminate the 26-year-old’s contract if need be. The latest from the German media on rumors of a potential sale hold that this will almost certainly not be happening. Sigh.

Tactical scout, Stuttgart

Pretty decent debut from the Pokal Winners in the Supercup. A much better against the Bundesliga record champions could have been attained were it not for the goalkeeping heroics of Bayern legend Manuel Neuer. Apart from an approximately 15-minute-stretch after the restart, Hoeneß’ charges were able to keep up the pace and intensity in a straightforward enough 4-4-2. No real surprise to see the VfB trainer line the team up in this.

Lineup—Stuttgart (DFL Supercup)

Undav and Woltemade can rotate roles over the course of the season. There’s also enough depth on the flanks insofar as the roster is concerned to see plenty of different players receive action on the wings. Many of the “camp winners” on the back-line (Vagnoman, Jaquez, and Chabot to be precise) didn’t have their greatest games. Atakan Karazor and Angelo Stiller both looked out of step and out of rhythm. In Stiller’s case, that’s related to the recent injury.

Despite the fact that many were rusty and dull at times, there doesn’t appear to be much of a reason to employ big changes against 1. FC Union Berlin this weekend. Even if Union have compensated for a poor camp with an excellent Pokal performance, Stuttgart possess the much better team. One assumes everyone will be back in sync after repeatedly being a step too late against Bayern.

Lineup—Stuttgart (Projected)

The formation remains the same. Demirovic starts over Undav with Woltemade settling back into that ten-role he does so well in despite his size. Führich makes way for Tomas, who should receive a chance to begin accruing VfB touches as soon as possible. Alexander Nübel returns. Everybody on the back-line gets a “mulligan”. Assignon and Chema Andres – both of whom did very well off the bench in the Supercup – stand at the ready.

It’s a talented enough side poised for an upper table finish.

Plainly NOT tittle contenders.

The best version of this squad won’t manifest for a little while yet.

GGFN | Peter Weis