Stuttgart's season is under real pressure. Three points from four Bundesliga matches leaves them 15th, and a 1-0 home defeat to Borussia Dortmund on September 19 extended a run of inconsistent results that also includes a 1-5 thrashing by Bayern Munich and a 1-2 loss at Hoffenheim. The club has shown flashes of quality, beating Köln 4-1 and Viking FK 3-1 in the Champions League, but the overall picture is one of a team struggling to find reliable form.

Off the pitch, the situation is complicated further by a looming contract crunch. As the kicker reports, eight players including Jeff Chabot, Angelo Stiller, Chris Führich and Maximilian Mittelstädt all see their deals expire in 2028, and renewing all of them would break the club's budget. Stuttgart's wage bill has already risen from 105 million to 163 million euros over three years. Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth has signalled that contract talks with most of those players will not begin until winter at the earliest, with the club monitoring performance before committing.

One genuine bright spot is 20-year-old defender Finn Jeltsch, who earned his first Germany call-up under Jürgen Klopp for Nations League fixtures against Serbia and Greece. Real Madrid have been linked with the centre-back, and former Stuttgart striker Kevin Kuranyi told Sky that Jeltsch will "one hundred percent" move to a top European club in future. For now, Stuttgart need results before the winter window forces bigger decisions.