While VfB Stuttgart spent weeks in the summer trying to sign new striker Dzenan Pejcinovic, several players left the club and the rumours over possible departures are still gathering pace, Nikolas Nartey quietly emerged as the winner of pre-season. That suits his character too.
The Dane is not one for big words, avoids the public eye and leaves the spotlight to others. His game does the talking, and Stuttgart would have needed it more than ever at the start of the new Bundesliga season. But nine minutes into the first competitive match of the campaign, that plan had already unravelled. Instead of finally establishing himself at VfB, Nartey suffered a muscle injury to the back of his thigh in the DFB Cup against Hansa Rostock and will be out for weeks.
For VfB and Nartey, the setback could hardly have come at a worse time. Bad luck has followed him through a career that is still young compared to his lengthy medical record. The 26-year-old was on the verge of starting the Bundesliga season as a regular. Just not in his natural role in central midfield. Nor one line further forward or at left-back, where he has filled in before. But in unfamiliar territory. At right-back.
With Lorenz Assignon, who arrived from Stade Rennes last summer for 12 million euros, still feeling the effects of the shoulder surgery he underwent at the end of the season, Nartey was set to be far more than a stop-gap. The all-rounder had fully earned his new status. Josha Vagnoman's situation only underlined that even more clearly.
Like Nartey, the two-time international completed the full pre-season. Even so, Vagnoman clearly slipped behind him in the pecking order. Hoeneß seemed to have concerns over his inconsistent performances in recent times. Now Vagnoman will travel to Munich as the first-choice option for the opener, while the injury-prone returning loanee Leonidas Sterigou is still a long way from the starting XI and Finn Jeltsch is needed in his preferred role at centre-back.
Vagnoman replaced Nartey against Rostock and even set up Pejcinovic's third goal. On Friday, the 25-year-old faces the toughest possible test, with none other than Luis Diaz likely to be up against him. In his debut season, the left winger produced 15 goals and 17 assists for Bayern Munich. Stuttgart's overflowing injury list only makes the task look bigger.
IMAGOVfB Stuttgart's bad luck: which players are missing against Bayern Munich?
Nartey was not the only one whose night in Rostock ended early. Chris Führich also went off after taking a blow to the thigh, with VfB initially keeping their cards close to their chest over his condition. Should the worst fears be confirmed for the attacking player, who with outstanding performances in the run-in had almost forced his way onto the World Cup train, Hoeneß would currently be without eight (!) potential starters for the opener against Bayern.
Alongside Nartey, Führich and Assignon, Dan-Axel Zagadou (thigh injury) and the new number one Dennis Seimen will definitely not be available. The latter returned from his loan spell at Paderborn with high expectations, before suffering a serious thigh injury shortly after coming back to the Neckar. The 20-year-old, regarded as one of the country's biggest goalkeeping talents, is not expected to be back between the posts until the end of September at the earliest.
Fabian Bredlow will replace him because the decision-makers around sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth deliberately chose not to react in the transfer market and instead put their trust in the veteran for the interim period.
Meanwhile, centre-backs Ramon Hendriks and Luca Jaquez (both muscle problems) are doubts, as is the 15-million-euro new signing Leo Sauer, who could theoretically replace Führich like for like on the left wing. The Slovak only recently returned to team training after suffering a painful partial muscle tear at former club Feyenoord Rotterdam at the end of March.
On top of that, Hoeneß will probably also have to do without long-term patient Justin Diehl (thigh injury) and Jeremy Arevalo (back problems). The talented attacking duo were mainly used with the second string last season, but given the injury crisis they could certainly have been options from the bench in the squad.
That makes the loss of Stuttgart's utility weapon Nartey all the more painful, because he had been ready to open a new chapter in his own fairytale in an unfamiliar role. Instead, another bout of misfortune followed.
VfB Stuttgart: why did Nikolas Nartey even think about ending his career?
Nartey's career has been a rollercoaster ride, with far more lows than highs so far. He has endured an alarming spell with a string of injuries that can hardly still be counted on two hands. Knees, ligaments, abdominal muscles, adductors, muscle fibres: Nartey's body has been through almost the full catalogue of injuries a footballer can suffer. In his case, though, all within a single year. The lowest point came shortly after his return and two appearances in the 2023 relegation play-off against Hamburger SV.
The fresh start planned for the following season quickly fell apart again. And it did not stop there. Cartilage damage in his knee coupled with thigh problems ruled him out for two and a half years (!). At times, he is even said to have considered ending his career. Nartey missed more than 100 matches in five seasons at VfB, who after signing him in 2019 initially loaned him to Hansa Rostock and then to SV Sandhausen.
Still, the Stuttgart decision-makers never lost faith in Nartey. Shortly after his first knee operation in 2022, the 1.86m left-footer was given a new contract. Five days before it was due to expire in summer 2025, the deal, with heavily performance-related terms, was extended by another season, even though he had only made his latest comeback on matchday 34. Wohlgemuth and co. could hardly have been blamed for parting ways. But the trust paid off.
Getty ImagesHow important was Nikolas Nartey for VfB Stuttgart last season?
Aside from a forced break of around two weeks, Nartey stayed fit and impressed with eye-catching performances that ultimately earned him an improved contract extension until 2028. A deserved reward, as Wohlgemuth also stressed when it was announced in May. "Nikolas Nartey's path at VfB has, as is well known, for a long time been anything but easy because of injuries. That makes us all the more pleased that Niko has developed over recent months into a stable and important factor within our team," the 47-year-old said, before following up with words that had almost come true by the start of the season: "Niko can provide important impulses for our game in various positions, which is why a further contract extension was the logical step for us. We are looking forward to continuing our work with Niko."
Nartey delivered four goals and four assists in all competitions and has also been able to call himself a Denmark international since March. Before his tragic cameo in Rostock, his appearances at right-back had been limited to a brief outing in the Bundesliga at Mainz 05 (2-2) and a somewhat surprising start, with Assignon spending 90 minutes on the bench, against FC Porto in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 (1-2).
For the most part, Nartey operated in central or attacking midfield, which is why compared with his rivals he offers a completely different dimension on the right side of defence and gives Hoeneß a great deal of flexibility. He also played in his preferred position in the first of his 38 appearances last season, incidentally, in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, when he came on a few minutes from the end. Against Bayern Munich.
Almost exactly a year later, with a completely different status, his involvement would have been more important than ever, just as Wohlgemuth predicted when extending his contract. Instead, he has become, in a sense, the symbol of Stuttgart's injury misfortune.
Nikolas Nartey: statistics at VfB Stuttgart before and in the 2025/26 season
Season | before the 2025/26 season | in the 2025/26 season |
Matches | 22 | 39 |
Goals | 0 | 4 |
Assists | 0 | 4 |
Minutes played | 976 | 1.559 |