Pejčinović opens up on Stuttgart move after 'absolute dream start'

Dženan Pejčinovic could hardly have made a better first impression in Stuttgart. 

Just weeks after completing a €25 million move from Wolfsburg, the striker marked his competitive debut with a hat-trick against Hansa Rostock in the DFB-Pokal. 

After making an “absolute dream start” to life at the club, Pejčinović opened up on his Stuttgart move in this week’s “Midweek Interviews” segment by the Bundesliga. 

“If I can say what I actually wanted, then of course it was for us to go through. That was the big goal for me,” the 21-year-old said, after the 2025 Pokal champions and 2026 finalists put four past third-tier side Rostock. 

“But I approached it very cautiously and said that first of all I wanted to do the job and help the team win. Of course, if a goal came with it, that would be great for me.

“But you have to say that with the three goals, I think it was personally the perfect debut for me, an absolute dream start.”

Despite the early promise, though, the forward is refusing to get carried away by the attention. 

“Honestly, it doesn’t really do anything to me,” he said. 

“You can say that at Wolfsburg I also scored three goals against Freiburg, and hype or no hype, it didn’t affect me because for me it was simply important to remain consistent and keep scoring goals.

“Of course, I don’t think about hype, but simply about success for the team.”

After weeks of talks, Pejčinović finally completed his move earlier this month, and his determination to succeed on the banks of the Neckar is perhaps unsurprising given how strongly he felt about the move. 

“I was convinced by VfB early on. I saw how they played in the Bundesliga and I followed them in Europe, he explained. 

“I think it was clear early on from both sides: they wanted it, I wanted it. So for me, the wish was that this transfer would happen, even though it dragged on a little. 

“I can’t really describe it because for me, it was simply: I heard about it and I absolutely wanted to do it.”

In terms of his qualities, he believes his intensity is among the reasons Stuttgart brought him to the club.

“Apart from scoring goals as a striker, I think I’m someone who plays a very intense game and does a lot for the team, both going forward and defensively,” he said. 

“I know I can score goals, I want to show that, and ideally I want to show it here at VfB. That’s why I believe I can give the team another new impulse.”

The 21-year-old also has plenty of experienced attacking players to learn from, and highlighted Ermedin Demirović and new skipper Deniz Undav as two of the Bundesliga’s leading forwards. 

“I have to say that, for me, both Ermedin and Deniz are among the best strikers in the Bundesliga,” Pejčinović said.

“You can see it in the statistics, and you can see how they play for the team. Of course, I try to learn a lot of things from them, especially with the ball, how I can position myself better and become even more dangerous.

“I’m glad the guys are helping me, and of course you try to learn from experienced, established players.” 

The striker is equally enthusiastic about working under Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeneß, praising his honesty and ability to improve players. 

“He has a vision of how he wants to play, and I notice on the pitch that it’s fun,” he said. 

“But he’s also someone who is very honest and critical, which I think makes many players better. Personally, I’m someone who likes that from a coach, when someone tells me things honestly because they want to make me better.

“I haven’t been here that long yet, but I think he’s done that very well in the past. You can see it from the players who have come through and whom he has improved. So I’m glad that I’m able to train under him here.”