Sebastian Hoeneß Demands Stronger Squad for Champions League

Sebastian Hoeneß is smiling less and demanding more. Again.

On the touchline he is usually all calm authority, but whenever the subject turns to transfers and VfB Stuttgart’s squad planning, the mask slips. It happened last summer. It is happening again now.

Champions League on the horizon, warning shots in Grassau

At the training camp in Grassau, with the mountains behind him and a Champions League season ahead, Hoeneß did not bother to dress up his message. Asked about reported interest in Bilal El Khannouss, he cut straight to the point.

"A coach's aim must always be to keep the best players. Billy is without doubt one of our best players," he said. No diplomacy, no gentle phrasing. Just a clear line in the sand.

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."

The word “substance” hung in the air. In other words: this squad, as it stands, is not enough.

Hoeneß did not stop there. He spelled out the profile he expects from the club’s recruitment team.

"Ideally, potential that does not first have to be developed, but has already been unlocked. 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."

Time is ticking. The coach knows it, and he wants everyone else to feel it too.

Limited arrivals, glaring gaps

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 come in. Solid work, sensible profiles.

But the hole in attack is still there, almost impossible to ignore.

Stuttgart are pushing hard for Dzenan Pejcinovic to lead the line through the middle. He is the first choice for that central role, the focal point Hoeneß wants. Negotiations with VfL Wolfsburg over the transfer fee, though, are dragging. Every day lost in talks is a day lost on the training pitch.

For a coach obsessed with structure and preparation, that delay is not a detail. It is a problem.

Echoes of 2025: the Woltemade shock

If all this sounds familiar, it is because Stuttgart have been here before with Hoeneß. The tone, the urgency, the public pressure – it all recalls last year’s turbulence.

Back then, the trigger was Nick Woltemade’s departure. The forward left for Newcastle United in a deal worth up to €90 million, a record fee that should have given Stuttgart enormous room to manoeuvre. Instead, it left their coach furious.

Before the home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoeneß did not even try to hide his anger.

"The fact is that it is a bitter loss for us. 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."

The money did not soothe him.

"Of course there is a financial situation. But the sporting responsibility lies with the coach."

That line was a shot across the hierarchy. If results dip, he will be the one judged – and he wants the tools to avoid that scenario.

A chaotic search and a late scramble

The hunt for a Woltemade replacement quickly turned messy. Stuttgart identified Hyeon-Gyu Oh from KRC Genk as their preferred option. Talks dragged on for hours. Medical checks raised doubts at VfB. The clubs could not align on the fee.

The deal collapsed at the last moment. Time slipped away, the window narrowed, and Stuttgart were suddenly in scramble mode.

Only shortly before the end of the 2025 summer transfer window did they finally act decisively, securing Bilal El Khannouss on loan from Leicester City. The day before, they had already spent around €15 million to bring in winger Badredine Bouanani from OGC Nice.

Two good players, two late arrivals. The kind of reactive business that leaves a coach rewriting his plans on the fly.

Pressure from the dugout

Now, with a Champions League campaign looming, Hoeneß is determined not to relive that chaos. His words in Grassau are not random frustration. They are a calculated escalation.

He wants ready-made quality, not just prospects. He wants El Khannouss kept, not cashed in. He wants Pejcinovic or a striker of similar calibre through the door in time to build automatisms, not to be unveiled on deadline day with a rushed medical and no pre-season.

The message to Wohlgemuth and Wehrle is unmistakable: last summer’s turbulence cannot become a pattern.

Stuttgart have earned their shot at Europe’s elite. The question now is whether the club’s transfer dealings will match the ambition of the coach who dragged them there – or whether Hoeneß will be forced to fight another season with a squad he believes is still missing its vital pieces.