Sebastian Hoeneß Demands Stronger Squad for Champions League
Sebastian Hoeneß is not in the mood for diplomacy.
Out on the touchline of VfB Stuttgart’s training camp in Grassau, with the Champions League looming and pre-season already slipping away, the head coach sent a message straight up the club’s chain of command: this squad is not strong enough yet, and time is running out.
“The coach’s aim must always be to keep the best players. Billy is without doubt one of our best players,” Hoeneß said when asked about the reported interest in Bilal El Khannouss. Then he widened the target. “We are playing a Champions League season. The point is that we also start this competition in a strong position. That is why I do have the wish that, instead of losing substance, we add substance.”
It was not a gentle reminder. It was a warning.
Champions League on the horizon, pressure on the board
Hoeneß knows exactly what he wants and, crucially, what he does not want: a developmental project heading into Europe’s elite competition.
“Ideally, potential that does not first have to be developed, but has already been unlocked,” he explained. “I hope that we will still become active. There is not much time left and a large part of pre-season is already over. That is why the wish is great that we manage to get a strong squad to the start.”
The subtext is clear. The coach sees the window closing, both literally and figuratively. Stuttgart’s return to the Champions League demands a squad that can compete from the first group-stage whistle, not one that is still finding itself in October.
Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth and chief executive Alexander Wehrle have not been idle. Leo Sauer, Tim van der Leij, goalkeeper Marius Funk and midfielder Grischa Prömel have all arrived on the Neckar. Solid business, useful additions.
But the hole up front still gapes.
The club continue to push for Dzenan Pejcinovic to fill the central striker role, yet talks with VfL Wolfsburg over the fee are dragging. Every day of haggling is another training session Hoeneß runs without the focal point he wants to build around.
Echoes of last summer’s frustration
If the tone from the coach sounds familiar, that is because Stuttgart have been here before — with the same man turning up the heat.
Last year, Hoeneß publicly bristled at the make-up of his squad after Nick Woltemade was sold to Newcastle United for a record fee of up to €90 million. The money was historic. The mood was not.
Before the home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, he did not bother to hide his frustration.
“The fact is that it is a bitter loss for us,” he said then. “Last summer we set out a few things that we wanted to implement. And I have to say very clearly that, even before Nick was transferred now, we had not yet completely managed to implement these things. The squad is not where it was intended to be.”
Even the windfall from England did not soothe him. “Of course there is a financial situation. But the sporting responsibility lies with the coach.”
Those words still hang over the club. The message hasn’t changed: the balance sheet does not win games; the squad does.
Turbulent search, late solutions
The hunt for a Woltemade replacement turned messy. Stuttgart thought they had their man in Hyeon-Gyu Oh from KRC Genk. Talks dragged on for hours, only to fall apart late. Medical concerns on VfB’s side, a gap in valuation between the clubs — the deal collapsed just when it seemed within reach.
The clock kept ticking. The season approached. The attack remained incomplete.
Only shortly before the end of the 2025 summer transfer window did Stuttgart finally move decisively, securing Bilal El Khannouss on loan from Leicester City. The day before, winger Badredine Bouanani had arrived from OGC Nice for around €15 million, another late piece in a puzzle that had been left too long on the table.
Those signings helped. They did not erase the memory of a chaotic window or the sense that the coach had been forced to improvise rather than execute a clear plan.
Now, as another season approaches and the Champions League anthem waits in the tunnel, Hoeneß has chosen not to wait quietly for solutions. He has gone public again, this time with the stakes even higher.
The question for Stuttgart’s hierarchy is simple: will they match their coach’s ambition before the window slams shut, or will a Champions League campaign begin with the same uneasy feeling that they are one step short?
