Deniz Undav is the second top striker this season alongside Serhou Guirassy at VfB Stuttgart. A few years ago, the 27-year-old would have loved to play for FC Schalke 04 – but the Knappen apparently never got in touch.
FC Schalke 04 recently missed the short window of opportunity to sign Bundesliga shooting star Deniz Undav. According to “Bild”, the club has not made any contact with the striker – although the player offered himself around two years ago.
At that time, Undav was still playing for the then Belgium promoted Union Saint-Gilloise. He shot the club into the first division with 17 goals in the 2020/21 season, and in November 2021 he gave a remarkable interview to the “Sport1” broadcaster.
“I would also move to the second division for Schalke – despite my current goalscoring rate in the first division. I could definitely imagine that,” said Undav, who had scored ten goals in 14 games in the upper house at that time. S04 played in the 2nd Bundesliga at the time.
VfB Stuttgart: Will Undav get a DFB nomination?
But neither during the winter break of the 2021/22 season nor in the following summer did Undav receive a call from Gelsenkirchen – possibly for financial reasons, as “Bild” explained. When the up-and-coming English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion struck and transferred seven million euros, the window of opportunity was finally closed.
After a season on the island, the Lower Saxony native was loaned out to VfB Stuttgart for the 2023/24 season. A decision that paid off.
In the VfB Stuttgart jersey, the offensive player scored nine goals and two assists – in just eleven Bundesliga appearances. He has scored four goals in the last three games alone. At the beginning of the season he came onto the field primarily as a joker for goalgetter Serhou Guirassy, but VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß is now playing with a double lead.
Both Stuttgart strikers scored in the recent 2-0 win against Werder Bremen. Deniz Undav has now even become the focus of the German national team.