Stuttgart's Record Offer to Keep Undav Before World Cup

VfB Stuttgart are racing the calendar as much as the market. Deniz Undav is days away from heading to the World Cup, and if no deal is signed before he boards that flight, contract talks are set to be “put on hold for the time being.”

That pause could prove costly.

Undav’s current agreement runs to 2027. Without an extension, he walks into 2025 as a free agent-in-waiting. From 1 January, the Germany international can legally sit down with other clubs and map out his future without Stuttgart at the table. For a striker coming off a season of 25 goals and 14 assists, that is a dangerous window for VfB to leave open.

So Stuttgart are moving. Hard.

A record offer on the table

According to Bild, the club’s hierarchy will return with a second, significantly improved offer before the weekend. The first proposal, a three-year extension that could have stretched to 2030, landed on Undav’s desk at the start of May. He turned it down.

This time, VfB are pushing their financial ceiling.

CEO Alexander Wehrle and sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth are driving the negotiations, and the supervisory board has already signed off on the new package. The deal on offer includes a basic salary in the region of €5.5–6 million per year, up from around €4.5 million, plus a €3 million signing bonus.

For Stuttgart, that is uncharted territory. A club-record offer, built around a player they now see as the face of their project.

Settled in Stuttgart, wanted abroad

Undav has, by all accounts, given Stuttgart encouragement. He has told the club’s leadership he is open to a long-term future at VfB. His family are settled, comfortable in both the dressing room and the city. The fit, on a human level, is there.

But the numbers he has put up this season travel well. Twenty-five goals. Fourteen assists. Those statistics speak fluently in every major league.

Wealthier clubs abroad have taken notice. Stuttgart cannot match the financial muscle of some of those suitors, so they are selling something else: status, continuity, a starring role in a team built around him. The question is whether that, and a record-breaking contract by VfB standards, is enough to fend off the pull of bigger paydays elsewhere.

Star man at VfB, super-sub for Nagelsmann

The contrast between Undav’s role at club and country is stark.

At Stuttgart, he is the reference point, the finisher, the man everything funnels towards. With Germany, Julian Nagelsmann currently sees him differently. On the World Cup depth chart, Undav is pencilled in as a super-sub.

Kai Havertz remains entrenched as the starting centre-forward. In recent friendlies, Undav even found himself behind Nick Woltemade in the pecking order, despite the lanky, technically gifted Newcastle United striker struggling for form and nowhere near matching Undav’s scoring output.

The situation grated. Then Undav changed the script.

A response on the pitch – and a flashpoint off it

In the second friendly against Ghana, Undav made himself impossible to ignore. He proved decisive, underlining exactly why Stuttgart are prepared to rip up their wage structure to keep him.

Afterwards, despite Nagelsmann’s clearly defined hierarchy, Undav did not hide his ambition. He spoke publicly of his hope for a starting place. The response from his national coach raised eyebrows.

Nagelsmann made remarks directed at the VfB striker that were widely viewed as questionable. The tension did not linger. The Germany boss later apologised to Undav in person, and the forward confirmed their relationship remains intact.

On the pitch, he has forced the debate. Off it, he has handled the fallout.

Decision time

So the picture is clear. At club level, Undav sits at the centre of Stuttgart’s sporting and financial plans. At international level, he is still fighting for full trust. Around him, richer clubs are circling, aware that from 1 January the door opens to direct talks.

Stuttgart have made their move with a record-breaking offer and a clear message: this is your team, this is your home.

The next move belongs to Deniz Undav – and it may define not only his career path, but how far VfB can dream in the years to come.