Sebastian Hoeneß Demands Stronger Squad for Champions League Season

Sebastian Hoeneß is smiling less and demanding more again. Stuttgart’s head coach has opened the new season the way he spent much of the last one: publicly pushing his bosses and warning that VfB are drifting towards a Champions League campaign without the armour to survive it.

On the training pitches of Grassau, with the Alps as a postcard backdrop, his message cut through the summer calm.

“A coach's aim must always be to keep the best players. Billy is without doubt one of our best players,” Hoeneß said when asked about the reported interest in Bilal El Khannouss. The Moroccan playmaker, on loan from Leicester City, has quickly become central to Stuttgart’s plans – and, in the coach’s eyes, non-negotiable.

Then he widened the lens.

“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. This was not a gentle reminder. It was a warning.

A coach who knows exactly what he wants

Hoeneß did not stop at broad principles. He laid out a profile.

“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.”

No talk of long-term projects. No patience for “maybe in two years”. Stuttgart’s coach wants ready-made quality, now, for a team stepping onto Europe’s biggest stage.

Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth and chief executive Alexander Wehrle have not been idle. Leo Sauer and Tim van der Leij have arrived, as have goalkeeper Marius Funk and midfielder Grischa Prömel. Solid work on paper, a squad thickened in important areas.

Yet anyone watching this team knows where the gaps still yawn. The attack needs more edge, more competition, more goals.

The striker puzzle and a familiar tension

At the heart of it all sits the search for a central striker. Stuttgart are still pushing hard for Dzenan Pejcinovic, identified as the man to lead the line. The problem is his current club, VfL Wolfsburg, and a transfer fee that refuses to move into Stuttgart’s comfort zone. Negotiations are dragging. The clock is ticking. Hoeneß is watching.

His rising impatience feels like a rerun of last summer.

Back then, the coach had already clashed with the club hierarchy over the direction of the squad. The flashpoint was Nick Woltemade’s departure to Newcastle United, a record sale worth up to €90 million. A landmark deal for the balance sheet, a body blow for the dressing room.

Before the home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoeneß did not sugarcoat his frustration.

“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.”

Even the biggest transfer in the club’s history did not soften his stance.

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

That line said everything. He knows that when results dip, nobody will point to the balance sheet. They will point to the dugout.

Turbulent searches and late solutions

The scramble to replace Woltemade underlined the tension between sporting ambition and financial reality. Stuttgart thought they had their man in Hyeon-Gyu Oh from KRC Genk. Talks went long into the night. Then the deal collapsed.

The medical reportedly raised doubts on Stuttgart’s side. The clubs were also far apart on the fee. What looked like a solution dissolved into another headache.

Only in the final days of the 2025 summer window did VfB finally move decisively. Badredine Bouanani arrived from OGC Nice for around €15 million, adding pace and trickery on the wing. Shortly before the deadline, they secured Bilal El Khannouss on loan from Leicester City, a creative spark to help rebuild the attack.

Those late moves steadied the mood. They did not erase the memory of a chaotic search.

Now, as another season looms and the Champions League anthem edges closer, Hoeneß is making sure nobody at the club forgets how fine the margins were. His demands are clear, his patience limited, the stakes higher than ever.

Stuttgart have their coach. They have their stage. The question is whether the squad they hand him in the coming weeks will match the ambitions he keeps spelling out in public.