Undav is the stone the Werder builders rejected

Deniz Undav, born in the tiny town of Achim near Bremen, spent five and a half years in the Werder Bremen youth academy until he was almost 16 years old. Just as he was starting to dream about a career in professional football, Werder decided to get rid of him.

Despite this setback, Undav managed to find his way to the Bundesliga, navigating through lower divisions (TSV Havelse, Eintracht Braunschweig II, SV Meppen), Belgium (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise), and England. Currently on loan from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, the 27-year-old forward is playing for Stuttgart, where he's gaining increasing attention despite significant competition for goals, particularly from Serhou Guirassy. His impressive seven goals in nine Bundesliga matches are catching attention, even from Germany's national team coach, Julian Nagelsmann.

Given his beginnings at Werder, Undav's story has gained more attention in Bremen ahead of the Bundesliga match on Saturday evening. Clemens Fritz, head of professional football at Werder, acknowledged that Undav's relatively late entry into professional football was unusual

"I believe there have been such stories in the past, and there will continue to be such stories in the future. Undav took a less traditional path, so you have to respect him."

It's been over eleven years since Undav was let go from Bremen. Fritz, who was a Werder player at the time, mentioned that he couldn't assess the young striker's potential back then. However, he commended Undav for persistently pursuing his goal, taking an alternate route and not losing faith in his abilities, especially after receiving news of leaving the training centre.

Fritz explained that some players are simply late bloomers. Regarding a potential return to Werder, Fritz mentioned that they were aware of Undav during his time in Belgium before moving to England. However, the team wasn't in urgent need of attackers with Dawid Kownacki, Justin Njinmah, and Nick Woltemade in the squad. Consequently, when Niclas Fullkrug departed just before the transfer deadline, Werder did not pursue Undav, who was already snapped up Stuttgart.

Looking forward to facing Undav on Saturday evening, Werder's head coach, Ole Werner, emphasized the challenge of defending against Undav and Guirassy, who have netted 22 goals together. Werner stressed the need for collective defending and highlighted the diverse qualities of the striking pair. He mentioned that there's no single strategy to counter such players but emphasized the importance of team effort in tackling this challenge.

Deniz will be additionally motivated when he steps on the pitch to face Werder.