Deniz Undav’s decision to join VfB Stuttgart on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion in the last window has clearly paid off.
After overcoming a knee injury at the start of the season, the forward has managed to shine at the Bundesliga side, managing eight goals and two assists from 10 games.
The 27-year-old’s deal at Brighton lasts until 2027 and as it stands he will have to return to The Amex. That’s according to the player himself and he made this claim when Sky Deutschland asked him about his future plans.
When responding to that, the German insisted he won’t be against the idea of extending his stay at Stuttgart.
“I have a contract with Brighton. As of now, I’ll be back at Brighton in the summer,” he said.
“But the season is still long. The focus is on VfB. I want to be as successful as possible. VfB is a great club. I’m happy to be here. The fans are great. I integrated well, the team welcomed me well. I’m not averse to it, definitely.”
These quotes are made a day after the Brighton owned player revealed he can “imagine” staying at the German club beyond his loan spell.
Two days ago, Bild reported Stuttgart have a €12m purchase option included as part of the temporary deal. Taking this and his recent comments into account, it’s likely he could leave the Seagulls next summer.
Undav spent most of his career in the lower leagues in Germany before joining Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in 2020. His form in Belgium helped him get a move to Brighton but the attacker has struggled to impress there.
On his career so far, Undav explained: “Sometimes I still think: ‘I just scored four goals in the Bundesliga. How does something like that work?’ Nobody believed in me. I didn’t believe in myself. I only played football for fun. And when you’re at home, you talk to your wife and family and say: ‘I made it’.
“This is crazy, to have this feeling that I have proven it to people who never believed in me. It took longer than expected and was a different career path.”
