Deniz Undav: Who is the VfB Stuttgart and Germany striker?

Stats correct as of 12 October 2024

Deniz Undav

Age: 28 (born 19 July 1996)
Club: VfB Stuttgart 
Position: Forward
Country: Germany (5 caps, 3 goals)

Key stats

While Serhou Guirassy stole plenty of the headlines at Stuttgart during the 2023/24 campaign, Undav's contribution certainly didn't go unnoticed. It took the forward a few weeks to adapt after arriving on loan from English Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion, but after netting twice against Cologne on Matchday 5 of last term's Bundesliga campaign, he never looked back.

As Stuttgart qualified for the UEFA Champions League, Undav struck 18 times, also adding nine assists. There was nothing Julian Nagelsmann could do but add him to his Euro squad. It was only a matter of time before Stuttgart ensured they made his switch to them a permanent one.

Born in Achim, in Lower Saxony, Undav joined the youth academy of Werder Bremen in 2007 and spent five years on their books before being released, apparently because he was too small. "That really hurt," he told Kreiszeitung Syke. "Particulary because I was a little lad from the Bremen region. It took me a couple of days to come to terms with it, but then I just looked forward."

Forward was a move to SC Weyhe. Two years later, he joined TSV Havelse, a club at the time playing in Germany's fourth tier Regionalliga. His second season at the club set a very high bar, with 16 goals and 4 assists. He managed to match his goalscoring haul the following season, adding a further six assists and earning a switch to Eintracht Braunschweig's reserves.

He played only one season for Braunschweig, with injuries limiting him to just 18 appearances, though he still scored nine goals and was part of the matchday squad for the first team in Bundesliga 2 on the penultimate day of the season. He nevertheless left Braunschweig in the summer, joining SV Meppen in the third division.

Watch: All of Deniz Undav's 23/24 Bundesliga goals