Former Bayern Munich youth talent Dženan Pejčinović ready to seize the limelight at VfB Stuttgart
Former Bayern Munich youth talent Dženan Pejčinović is raring to burst onto the big stage after moving from Wolfsburg to VfB Stuttgart over the summer, with the powerful striker showing with a DFB Cup hat-trick that he has the potential to haunt his former club when he returns for the season opener.
There are dream debuts and there's that of Pejčinović. Arriving as a promising 21-year-old striker keen to make a case for playing time in a talented VfB Stuttgart squad, he smashed a hat-trick in his first game, a 4-0 DFB Cup win at Hansa Rostock that provided a tantaslising glimpse of his potential.
Delighted Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß ackowledged afterwards: "That was a dream start. We battled to sign him. It's fun to have him."
The great start might not surprise too many who followed him as perhaps the brightest spark in Wolfsburg's 2025/26 season, which ended in relegation.
The youngster was the Wolves' joint top-scorer with Mohamed Amoura, hitting eight Bundesliga strikes - including a hat-trick against Freiburg on Matchday 15 and a stunning dipping drive inside the far post against Union Berlin on Matchday 30.
That kind of form earned the tall and energetic attacker his first call-ups from Germany U21, for whom he has now scored two goals in seven caps.
While it would be fanciful to make too many predictions from one cup match, it is safe to say the fine start bodes well for the season ahead for both the striker and his club - as they look to match last season's fourth-placed Bundesliga finish while taking on the continent's finest in the UEFA Champions League.
Pejčinović himself is clearly staying modest, saying after his hat-trick: "It's also important to me that I work for the team, that I do my part for the success. I think I managed that quite well today."
As keen as the striker might be to take things slowly, the first step of the Bundesliga season could potentially be a very special one. Pejčinović will return to Munich on Friday to face the club he played for as a boy before switching to Augsburg at the age of 12.
Depending how the opening weeks to the Bundesliga season go, speculation of a call-up by new Germany coach Jürgen Klopp could just come to fruition.
Given his pace, power and composed finishing, there is certainly every chance his star ascends at Stuttgart over the course of the coming campaign.
