Sebastian Hoeneß Calls for Stronger Squad Ahead of Champions League
Sebastian Hoeneß is not in the mood for diplomacy.
Out on the touchline in Grassau, with the Alps in the background and a Champions League season looming, the VfB Stuttgart coach used the calm of a training camp to send a loud message back home: this squad is not ready, and time is running out.
“We add substance – not lose it”
The trigger this time is the situation around Bilal El Khannouss. The young playmaker, on loan from Leicester City last season, has attracted interest, and Hoeneß did nothing to hide where he stands.
"A coach's aim must always be to keep the best players. Billy is without doubt one of our best players," he said, before widening the argument beyond one transfer case.
"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."
This is not a coach idly sketching out a wish list. Hoeneß spoke with the clarity of someone who already has a precise profile in mind.
"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."
The subtext is obvious: Stuttgart’s rise under Hoeneß has pushed the club back into Europe’s elite, but the squad building has not kept pace with the sporting ambition he demands.
Modest arrivals, glaring gaps
On paper, VfB have not been idle. Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth and chief executive Alexander Wehrle have moved early for Leo Sauer and Tim van der Leij, added goalkeeper Marius Funk, and brought in midfielder Grischa Prömel to the Neckar.
Useful signings, all of them. None of them address the central concern.
The lack of firepower in attack remains the obvious weak point. Stuttgart are still working on a deal for Dzenan Pejcinovic, identified as the man to occupy the central role at the heart of the attack. The plan is clear, the execution far less so. Talks with VfL Wolfsburg over the transfer fee are dragging on, and every day lost is another training session without the focal point Hoeneß wants to build around.
For a coach who lives off clear structures and defined roles, the delay grates.
Echoes of last summer’s storm
If the tone from the coach sounds familiar, that is because Stuttgart have been here before.
Last year, Hoeneß publicly bristled at the way the squad was being reshaped, especially when Nick Woltemade left for Newcastle United in a deal worth up to €90 million – a record fee that did little to soften the sporting blow in his eyes.
Before the home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, he laid his frustration bare.
"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 in the bank did not change his stance.
"Of course there is a financial situation. But the sporting responsibility lies with the coach."
Those sentences cut to the core of the current tension. Hoeneß knows he will be judged on results in the Bundesliga and the Champions League, not on balance sheets or resale values. If the squad is short, it is his reputation that takes the hit.
A turbulent hunt for solutions
The search for a Woltemade replacement last summer underlined how quickly a transfer plan can unravel.
VfB had lined up Hyeon-Gyu Oh from KRC Genk as their preferred solution through the middle. Talks dragged on for hours. Medical checks raised doubts at Stuttgart. The clubs were also far apart on the fee. What looked like a done deal fell apart late, leaving the sporting department scrambling.
The pressure finally told just before the transfer window slammed shut in the summer of 2025. Stuttgart reacted, bringing in Bilal El Khannouss on loan from Leicester City to inject creativity and control between the lines. The day before, winger Badredine Bouanani had arrived from OGC Nice for around €15 million, adding pace and one‑v‑one threat out wide.
Those late moves helped steady the project. They did not erase the memory of a chaotic window or the feeling that VfB were constantly one step behind their own ambitions.
Champions League on the horizon, clock ticking again
Now the stakes are even higher. Stuttgart are not just trying to consolidate in the upper half of the Bundesliga; they are preparing to walk back onto the Champions League stage. The margin for error shrinks dramatically at that level.
Hoeneß has chosen his moment carefully. By speaking out in Grassau, he has turned the gentle hum of pre-season into a clear, public challenge for those above him: keep El Khannouss if possible, secure the striker he has been asking for, and deliver the “unlocked” quality he believes a Champions League squad demands.
The squad planners can point to completed deals and ongoing negotiations. The coach points to the training pitch, the calendar, and the standard of opponent that awaits.
One side of the club is counting days in the market. The other is counting down to the Champions League anthem.
