VfB Stuttgart have completed the signing of striker Dzenan Pejcinovic from Wolfsburg, with the move confirmed for a fee in the region of €25m for the 21-year-old. The deal was finalised in early August 2026 after weeks of back-and-forth, with earlier bids reported to have started well below the final figure before the two Bundesliga clubs settled on terms. Pejcinovic has signed a long-term contract running to 2031, and becomes Stuttgart's sixth summer signing as Sebastian Hoeness's side build a squad for a season that includes Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal football. FC Porto and fellow Bundesliga club RB Leipzig were also credited with interest, but Pejcinovic chose to stay in Germany.
Stuttgart's sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth explained the thinking behind the move, saying the club were "convinced by his footballing abilities" and that he "immediately gives us a valuable option in attack while still possessing significant development potential." With three competitions to juggle this season, Stuttgart wanted a recognised third centre-forward alongside Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav, giving Hoeness the option to rotate or play more than one out-and-out striker without weakening the side. At 1.90m, Pejcinovic also offers a different physical profile to Stuttgart's existing forward options, with a genuine aerial threat and presence in the penalty box.
For Wolfsburg, it is a familiar trade-off: a big fee for a player they can ill afford to lose goals from, at a club now working to bounce straight back up from relegation to Bundesliga 2. Pejcinovic joined Wolfsburg from Augsburg's academy for a modest €1.25m in 2022 but took time to break into the first team, managing only a handful of top-flight appearances across his first two seasons there. A loan at Fortuna Düsseldorf in the 2024-25 season proved the turning point, and he returned to Wolfsburg for 2025-26 a more complete forward, becoming one of the club's most reliable goal threats as they were relegated. The €25m fee represents a substantial return on a player developed largely in-house, and gives Wolfsburg funds to put toward their promotion push.
Pejcinovic's numbers back up the fee. He scored eight goals in the Bundesliga last season, a rate of 0.5 per 90 minutes, as Wolfsburg went down, and finished with 12 goals in 34 appearances across all competitions. The standout moment came in a 4-3 defeat to Freiburg in December, when he scored a hat-trick despite finishing on the losing side, underlining the poacher's instinct and aerial ability that have drawn comparisons to Bosnian international Edin Dzeko. Born in Munich to Montenegrin parents and a product of the Bayern Munich academy before moving on to Augsburg, he also carries a strong scoring record from Germany's youth sides.
At Stuttgart, Pejcinovic is likely to start out as competition and cover for Demirovic and Undav rather than a guaranteed starter, with Hoeness able to pick whichever combination suits a given opponent across a season that now includes Champions League nights. His size and heading ability give Stuttgart a more direct option when games need to be won in the air, complementing Undav's movement and Demirovic's link-up play. How quickly he adapts and how minutes are shared among Stuttgart's front three will be one of the more interesting subplots of their season.