Hanashiro strengthens the U21s
At VfB Stuttgart, the contracts of eleven players (including loans) expire after this season. These include Genki Haraguchi (32), Roberto Massimo (23) and Lilian Egloff (21), who are having a difficult time in terms of playing time under coach Sebastian Hoeneß. As the “Kicker” reports, the chances of a longer future in Swabia are poor.
In the case of Massimo, an extension is therefore considered impossible. The former German U21 international moved from Arminia Bielefeld to VfB in the summer of 2018 for a fee of 2.5 million euros, but was unable to establish himself there sustainably. The attacker was used 56 times (2 goals/3 assists) for the professionals, but only four times this season – each time as a joker.
While Massimo is rarely part of the squad, Haraguchi mostly sits on the bench and was substituted on twice. The Japanese came from Union Berlin for one million euros in January, when Bruno Labbadia was still coach. Now clubs from his homeland, including Vissel Kobe, are said to be interested in him.
Egloff has been at the club for around eleven years, was considered a top talent for a long time and was promoted to the professional squad in 2020. Since then he has made 29 appearances, but only three from the start. This season there are 117 minutes. The magazine estimates that staying beyond the summer is “more than unlikely”. Hoeneß had recently confirmed to the homegrown player: “He has to stick with it. He has to do exactly what he’s doing to be in good shape when he comes in.”
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In contrast, the plan for talent Thomas Kastanaras (20) is a maximum of a loan. According to the report, the striker, who, like Egloff, has been training in the VfB youth ranks since 2012, should gain match practice at a higher level than in the regional league, in which he scored four goals in six games. This season he is still without professional action and has competitors Serhou Guirassy (27), Deniz Undav (27) and Jovan Milosevic (18) in front of him. Kastanaras’ contract ends in 2025.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Rinto Hanashiro is strengthening the second team for the second half of the season. VfB announced this on Thursday. The midfielder comes from the JFA Academy Fukushima and will be the third Japanese in coach Markus Fiedler’s team alongside Anrie Chase (19) and Rei Okada (21).
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