Instead of relying on a top striker, VfB have a number of talents in the squad this year, hoping that at least one will make it through.Image: imago / press photo Baumann
Bundesliga
Last summer, VfB Stuttgart had to cope with the loss of their star striker Saša Kalajdžić: The 25-year-old Austrian was considered a huge talent before he switched to Wolverhampton Wanderers for 18 million euros at the start of the season.
Saša Kalajdžić has not impressed since moving to the Premier League.Image: imago / Avanti
Instead of reinvesting the money in a top player, VfB is relying on a large number of attackers this season, in the hope that at least one of them will make a breakthrough. With Luca Pfeiffer and Juan José Perea, two center forwards could be signed relatively cheaply, as well as Serhou Guirassy and Tiago Tomás, who were only on loan, as well as the wingers Tanguy Coulibaly, Silas and Chris Führich. In addition, Thomas Kastanaras (U19) and Alou Kuol (Stuttgart II) were promoted within the club.
As the “Kicker” reports, one of them is now saying goodbye.
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Tiago Tomás’ injury time uncertain, VfB signs next striker
Tiago Tomás came on loan from Sporting Lisbon in January 2021. Since then, the 20-year-old has played 29 Bundesliga games for VfB. He has already netted six times, before suffering an abdominal muscle injury in the game against TSG Hoffenheim two weeks ago.
Tiago Tomás celebrates his goal against Eintracht Frankfurt.Image: imago / Jan Huebner
“A very unpleasant injury,” explains VfB coach Bruno Labbadia to the “kicker”. “You need the abdominal muscles for every movement.”
Since the downtime is also unclear, Stuttgart brought in another striker in Gil Dias during the winter break. The Swabians transferred around one million euros to Benfica Lisbon, for which Dias, unlike Tomás, is committed.
Tomás’ loan ends in the summer. It is unlikely that Stuttgart will make use of its purchase option given the fixed fee of 15 million euros. Even a theoretically freely negotiable transfer in line with the market value would hardly be possible for VfB. According to “Transfermarkt.de”, Tomás’ market value is currently around seven million euros.
Nevertheless, Labbadia sees a certain potential in the 20-year-old: “He works well, has very good facilities, good dynamics and has also made good physical progress,” Labbadia assesses his protégé.
Bruno Labbadia is basically satisfied with Tiago Tomás.Image: dpa / Tom Weller
The “Kicker” reports that Tomás could at best be loaned out again to Stuttgartsince Sporting had probably hoped for a steeper development.
When Mick Schumacher signed on as a reserve driver at Mercedes after leaving the Haas Formula 1 team, it seemed like a step backwards to most fans. Because in the coming season Mick will only race if one of the regular drivers drops out. Because Formula 1 drivers are usually real athletes and are driven by great sporting ambition, this is relatively rare.
