Deniz Undav is making a big impression at VfB Stuttgart. Soon he will probably also score for the German national team.
The odds are impressive: 13 goals in 17 games. Deniz Undav from VfB Stuttgart is shaking up the Bundesliga this season. And the loan from English first division club Brighton & Hove Albion has also become the focus of national coach Julian Nagelsmann.
The DFB coaching team is watching Undav closely. Nagelsmann plans to invite the Lower Saxony-born striker to the next two international matches in March 2024. Nagelsmann and Undav are in contact. Anything other than a nomination for the games against the Netherlands (in Frankfurt) and France (in Lyon) would be a big surprise at the moment.
For Germany or Turkey? Decision stands
As of now, Undav could actually play for Turkey: His family has Kurdish roots and originally comes from southeast Turkey. In the German squad he could again be an alternative to BVB striker Niclas Füllkrug. However, he made it clear at the beginning of December after the cup success over Borussia Dortmund that Undav was clearly leaning towards Germany.
“I made a decision for myself. I spoke to my family and my advisor and signaled to the national coach what my goal was,” said Undav on the pay TV channel Sky and added with a smile: “Unity, justice and freedom. I had both options and told him that I would like to take the chance to play for Germany – if I get the chance.”
| 1 | Harry KaneBavaria | 20 | 1.2 | 3 | 24 | ||
| 2 | Serhou GuirassyStuttgart | 14 | 1.21 | 3 | 17 | ||
| 3 | Lois OpendaLeipzig | 20 | 0.7 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 4 | Deniz UndavStuttgart | 17 | 0.76 | 0 | 13 | ||
| 5 | Ermedin Demirovicaugsburg | 20 | 0.55 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 6 | Victor BonifaceLeverkusen | 16 | 0.62 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 7 | Marvin DuckschBremen | 19 | 0.47 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 7 | Niclas FüllkrugDortmund | 20 | 0.45 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 7 | Jonas WindWolfsburg | 20 | 0.45 | 0 | 9 |
And club coach Sebastian Hoeneß also praised his attacker highly. “Deniz is doing exactly what he can and must do: draw attention to himself with performance. He’s doing that really well. If he keeps doing that, then he has a huge chance, then it’s almost impossible to get past him,” said Hoeneß on the Press conference before the Leverkusen game about his protégé’s potential participation in the European Championship. Even just a few years ago, he himself would have thought it unthinkable that Undav could actually play for Germany at the home European Championships in 2024.
Via Meppen and Belgium to the Premier League
Undav’s path to becoming a professional hasn’t been a classic, straightforward one. The 27-year-old is someone who is often referred to in the industry as a “late starter”. Selected from Werder Bremen’s youth ranks in 2012, he bounced around the regional league before third division team SV Meppen noticed him in 2018. The year in which Germany was awarded the 2024 European Championship.
After a passable first season, Undav really turned things up in his second season in Meppen. In 2019/2020 he scored 17 goals in 34 games and set up 13 more for his teammates. Instead of staying in Germany, the then 24-year-old moved to the second Belgian league to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, with whom he not only achieved promotion in 2021/2022, but also sensationally celebrated the championship.
Undav contributed 35 goals in 33 games (25 goals, 10 assists), so the English first division team from Brighton secured his services. After a mixed season, in which Undav only demonstrated his skills in the last games of the season, the call from Stuttgart finally followed.