After the separation from coach Steffen Baumgart and the confirmation of the transfer ban by CAS, 1. FC Cologne may be threatened with another blow in the neck: the move of a highly traded home-grown player to league rivals VfB Stuttgart.
As the “kicker” reports, citing its own information, the 19-year-old offensive player Justin Diehl is not averse to making the step from the Rhineland to Swabia.
It is said that the Cologne native has more chances of playing time at VfB Stuttgart than at Effzeh because of the unclear future of attackers Serhou Guirassy and Deniz Undav.
After two short appearances in 2022/2023, Diehl has not yet played for the Cologne professionals in the current season.
Background: Ex-coach Baumgart deliberately decided against the top talent, who has not yet wanted to commit to 1. FC Köln despite his contract expiring in the summer.
Baumgart enjoyed the support of sports director Christian Keller in this measure. The cards for Diehl could be reshuffled under the new head coach, writes the “kicker”.
From 1. FC Cologne to VfB Stuttgart?
Regardless of this, staying in the cathedral city is apparently unlikely, especially since, in addition to VfB Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen is also said to be trying for the youngster – although probably without much chance of success due to the large offensive line-up.
At VfB Stuttgart, however, there are question marks not only behind Guirassy, who could move in the winter thanks to a release clause, and behind Undav, who is only on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. Chris Führich has also recently aroused the interest of other clubs with his strong performances.
Diehl has been on the list at VfB Stuttgart for some time. The decisive factor for a change could be managing director Alexander Wehrle, who worked in the same position at 1. FC Köln until 2022.