Sebastian Hoeneß: Demands for Squad Strength Ahead of Champions League
Sebastian Hoeneß is smiling less these days. And when he talks, the message is blunt.
Out on the touchline of VfB Stuttgart’s training camp in Grassau, the coach again stepped in front of the microphones and did what he did so effectively a year ago: he turned up the heat on his own club.
“A coach's aim must always be to keep the best players. Billy is without doubt one of our best players,” he said when asked about the reported interest in Bilal El Khannouss. It sounded like a plea, but it landed like a warning.
Champions League stage, Bundesliga reality
Stuttgart are preparing for a Champions League season. Hoeneß has no intention of walking into it undercooked.
“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 feeling his way through the market. He knows exactly what he wants, and he is not shy about saying it.
“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 clock is ticking. Hoeneß is making sure everyone hears it.
Limited arrivals, glaring gaps
Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth and chief executive Alexander Wehrle have not been idle. Leo Sauer and Tim van der Leij have come in, goalkeeper Marius Funk has been added, and midfielder Grischa Prömel has arrived to stiffen the centre of the pitch.
On paper, that’s business done. On the grass, it is not nearly enough.
The need in attack is obvious. Stuttgart are still pushing hard for Dzenan Pejcinovic to fill the central striker role, but talks with VfL Wolfsburg over the transfer fee are dragging. The deal is wanted, the numbers are not.
Every stalled conversation, every day lost, feeds into the same tension: Hoeneß wants a squad that can carry his ideas into Europe and keep pace in the Bundesliga. He does not want to improvise his way through another season.
Echoes of last summer’s anger
If all this sounds familiar, it should. Hoeneß has been here before.
Last year, the coach had already let his frustration boil over when Nick Woltemade left for Newcastle United in a deal that could reach €90 million. Record money for the club, a record headache for the coach.
Before the home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, he did not bother dressing it up.
“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 huge transfer fee did nothing to calm him.
“Of course there is a financial situation. But the sporting responsibility lies with the coach.”
That line still hangs in the air. The money goes into the accounts. The pressure lands on the dugout.
Turbulent search, late solutions
The scramble to replace Woltemade turned into a saga. Stuttgart thought they had their man in Hyeon-Gyu Oh from KRC Genk. Talks dragged on for hours. Then the medical raised doubts on the VfB side, and the clubs remained far apart on the fee. The deal collapsed.
The window ticked down. Plans were rewritten on the fly.
Only shortly before the end of the 2025 summer window did Stuttgart finally move decisively, bringing in Bilal El Khannouss on loan from Leicester City. The day before, they had already spent around €15 million on winger Badredine Bouanani from OGC Nice.
Two late arrivals, both talented, both carrying expectation. They steadied the mood, but they did not erase the memory of how close Stuttgart came to going into the season short-handed.
Pressure from the dugout
Now, as another campaign looms and the Champions League anthem edges closer, the pattern is repeating. Limited time, high demands, and a coach refusing to hide behind polite phrases.
Hoeneß has drawn his line: keep the best, add real quality, stop losing “substance” just as the club steps back onto Europe’s biggest stage.
The ball is with Wohlgemuth and Wehrle again. This time, with the eyes of the continent about to turn to Stuttgart, can they deliver the squad their coach is demanding before the whistle blows on another window?
