Flourishing Deniz Undav is in the form of his life
Deniz Undav is in the form of his life as VfB Stuttgart continue their march up the table, and it doesn’t look as though the German’s goalscoring powers will diminish any time soon.
Sebastian Hoeneß's men have suffered just three defeats in 12 Bundesliga matches since Undav’s return from injury in October as the 29-year-old continues to fire on all cylinders. Eager to make up for lost time after missing four of the first six league games due to injury, the striker is proving a force to be reckoned with.
To describe his first half of the season as exceptional would be an understatement. His 10 goals since Matchday 8 cannot be bettered by anyone in the Bundesliga, not even Harry Kane (9), while that tally is also the highest number of strikes he has managed in the first half of a German top-flight campaign throughout his career.
Watch: The best of Deniz Undav
All in all, he averages a goal every 108 minutes, which underlines his abilityy to make a constant impact.
After scoring seven times in the final six games of 2025, the forward continued his majestic form into this calendar year. He was close to unstoppable as he registered a goal and two assists - both for Jamie Leweling - as VfB cruised to a 4-1 victory over fellow European hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen. He then followed that up with another strike just three days later versus Eintracht Frankfurt.
A penalty-box striker, only Bayern Munich's Michael Olise (63) has registered more shots on goal than Undav (62) this Bundesliga campaign. Despite this, Stuttgart’s clinical finisher is out-performing his xGoals value (7.0) by three goals, ranking him as one of the Bundesliga’s most efficient players behind Kane, Can Uzun, Jens Stage and Serge Gnabry.
Watch: Undav's masterclass performance at Leverkusen
Notably, four of Undav’s goals this season have come in the final 15 minutes, with only Kane (7) scoring more frequently during that period of matches.
Additionally, he often looks to engineer space and play on the last man; only Hamburg’s Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (19) has been caught offside more times than Undav (18) this season. He isn't the quickest, but his high footballing IQ allows him to make up for that.
Upon his first start after returning from injury, the Stuttgart star made a well-timed run in behind Mainz’s high defensive line and, through on goal, exhibited his lethal finishing, remaining composed to chip the ball over the onrushing Robin Zentner to kickstart his 2025/26 scoring spree.
While all of his strikes have come from inside the penalty area, he has still been able to showcase his ability to score a variety of differnt goals. After bagging a brace against Augsburg in a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Matchday 10, which included a header despite his 5'10" frame, he said: “I’m a short striker but I think you could see I win headers, I win duels against tall defenders.”
He followed that up with a hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund as the Swabians recovered from 2-0 and 3-2 down to salvage a share of the spoils, his second and third goals illustrating poacher-like instinct. “Scoring three is always nice,” beamed Undav, who particularly enjoyed his third strike. “It was like a typical striker goal, a typical Deniz goal.”
Undav has also performed at his best on the continental stage, returning one goal and three assists in four UEFA Europa League games this term.
Watch: All Deniz Undav's Bundesliga goals
Racking up 37 goals in 71 Bundesliga appearances, Undav has established himself as one of the league's finest strikers, but Stuttgart’s hitman hasn’t always had it easy. Undav spent five years at Werder Bremen's academy before being released, because he was too small.
After spells at Havelse, Eintracht Braunschweig and Meppen, it wasn't until his arrival at Union Saint-Gilloise, whom he joined in 2020 at the age of 23, where his displays finally attracted significant attention. In 2021/22, he scored 25 goals and provided 10 assists in 33 games in Belgian’s top flight the year after helping the Brussels-based club achieve promotion.
A move to Brighton & Hove Albion followed but, unable to replicate his goalscoring feats, Undav joined Stuttgart, initially on loan. After a successful 2023/24 campaign, which yielded 18 Bundesliga goals and nine assists as side secured a return to the UEFA Champions League for the the first time in 15 years, the MHPArena outfit managed to acquire Undav's services on a permanent basis.
His performances caught the attention of Julian Nagelsmann, who handed Undav his Germany debut against France in March 2024. The Stuttgart forward went on to represent his country five times in 2024, but injury halted his progression on the international stage.
Absent from Nagelsmann’s last three squads because of the knee injury sustained against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 2 of the current term, Undav’s 45-minute cameo against France during the UEFA Nations League finals last June marks his last appearance for the national team.
However, Undav's current form surely makes it impossible for Nagelsmann to ignore him much longer. Now back to full fitness, he is flourishing at the highest level, and injuries to Frankfurt’s Jonathan Burkardt and Gladbach’s Tim Kleindienst could offer Undav a pathway to the Germany squad for this summer's FIFA World Cup 2026. Considering everything that he offers, he would be more than deserving of the opportunity.
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