Germany international Deniz Undav gets eight votes out of ten to finish as Stuttgart’s Player of the Season in the annual voting process by Bulinews’ team of writers. The 29-year-old didn’t get any votes last season when fellow striker Nick Woltemade finished top.
Stuttgart have only managed to win one of their last five games, but they will be back in the Champions League after finishing in fourth place. They lost the final against FC Bayern in the DFB-Pokal, a trophy they had won in the previous season.
Undav was instrumental throughout the season as his career-high 19 goals was only bettered by Harry Kane (36) in Bundesliga. He also extended his contract until 2029 before joining Germany’s squad for the World Cup.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCE:
Undav started the season slowly, having to miss four games due to a knee injury. He was off the mark on matchday 8 when he scored the winner against Mainz. He backed that up by scoring six of Stuttgart’s eight goals in November.
That includes his first-ever hat-trick at MHP Arena in the 3-3 draw with Borussia Dortmund. Including his 91st-minute equalizer, all his goals came after the break in his standout performance of the season.
During the second half of the campaign, Undav also broke his personal streak with goals in six successive Bundesliga fixtures. If you exclude penalties, which is something he’s yet to take in Stuttgart, the gap between Kane and Undav will drop to only seven.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
The only other player to get votes from Bulinews writers is also in Julian Nagelsmann’s World Cup squad. Angelo Stiller won the remaining two votes in his third season with the Swabians. The 25-year-old central midfielder played every Bundesliga game, with only four of them coming off the bench.
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