Deniz Undav

Deniz Undav — Biography

Deniz Undav is a forward known for a rise from the lower leagues to the Bundesliga and the German national team. He is the scorer in the VfB Stuttgart side that finished runner-up in 2024 and won the DFB-Pokal in 2025; in June 2026 he extended his contract to 2029, and he represented Germany at the 2024 European Championship and the 2026 World Cup.

He grew up in Achim, was taken into Werder Bremen's academy in 2007 and released in 2012 because of his height. After TSV Havelse, Eintracht Braunschweig II and SV Meppen, he joined Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium in 2020; he won the second-division title in his first season, and in 2021-22 was top scorer with 18 goals and Belgian Footballer of the Year. In 2022 he moved to Brighton for 7 million euros. In 2023-24 he was loaned to Stuttgart and finished with 18 goals, including a hat-trick against RB Leipzig, as the team qualified for the Champions League. He signed permanently in August 2024, scored on his Champions League debut against Real Madrid, and in 2025-26 set a personal best of 19 league goals.

Having never played at youth level, he received his first senior call-up in March 2024, aged 27, and came on for Kai Havertz in a 2-0 win over France; his first goal came against the Netherlands on September 10, 2024.