Dzenan Pejcinovic Transfer Battle: Porto vs Stuttgart

The race for Dzenan Pejcinovic has turned into a straight sprint between tradition and temptation. On one side, VfB Stuttgart: Champions League football, a rising Bundesliga project, and a return to familiar surroundings. On the other, FC Porto: European royalty, a proven launchpad for strikers, and a club that simply does not walk away once it smells an opportunity.

Right now, Wolfsburg are the gatekeepers.

Porto test Wolfsburg’s resolve

According to Bild, Porto have already made their move, tabling an initial offer of around €23 million for the 21-year-old. Wolfsburg’s response was immediate and blunt. Too low. Rejected.

Relegation has not forced VfL into a fire sale, and they are drawing a clear line: Pejcinovic will only leave for at least €25 million. His contract runs until 2029. They have time, and they know it.

Porto are not walking off the stage. A second bid from Portugal is expected, with the Portuguese champions still convinced they can bend Wolfsburg’s stance. They see a young, mobile No 9 who has already shown he can score regularly in a struggling side. For a club that has built eras on forwards, that profile is hard to ignore.

Stuttgart’s dream signing meets a hard price

Stuttgart know all of this. And still, they keep coming back.

For VfB, Pejcinovic is not just another option. He is described as a dream signing, a player they want regardless of what happens with Ermedin Demirovic. That detail matters. It hints at ambition rather than replacement.

Their first serious attempt fell well short of Wolfsburg’s demand: a total package worth around €18 million, according to Bild. No surprise that it went nowhere. With Porto now in the race, Stuttgart’s room to negotiate has shrunk even further.

The Swabians are said to be readying a new offer of €22 million. Closer, but still below the €25 million Wolfsburg are holding out for. Every extra million now feels like a test of how far Stuttgart are willing to stretch their Champions League budget for one striker.

Demirovic anger and Hoeneß’s stance

The pursuit of Pejcinovic has inevitably dragged Demirovic into the spotlight. Reports suggested Sebastian Hoeneß would be open to selling his Bosnia international captain, who is attracting interest from Fenerbahce and Juventus.

Hoeneß did not take that well.

“I was irritated and, to be honest, also annoyed by some of what was discussed there,” he told Bild, before making his position unmistakably clear: “My goal is always to have the best players at VfB and Medo is one of our best players.”

The message is sharp. Stuttgart do not see Pejcinovic as Demirovic’s replacement. They want both.

On paper, they are already strong through the middle. Demirovic and Deniz Undav formed one of the most effective attacking partnerships in Germany last season. Jeremy Arevalo arrived in January as a challenger and is still adapting. Jovan Milosevic is back from loans at Partizan Belgrade and Werder Bremen but is widely expected to move on again.

Add Pejcinovic to that mix, and VfB would go into their Champions League return with four genuine centre-forward options and real depth at No 9 – a luxury they have not enjoyed in years.

Pejcinovic’s preference tilts the battle

For once, the numbers are not the only decisive factor. The player’s own preference is tilting the field.

Pejcinovic is said to favour a move to Stuttgart. He wants to leave Wolfsburg after relegation but stay in Germany. The sporting project fits: a young, attacking side, Champions League football, and a coach with a clear plan for forwards. The geography helps too. A move to Stuttgart would bring him closer to Munich, the city where he grew up and first made his name in Bayern’s academy.

His path has already been anything but linear. From Bayern’s youth ranks to Augsburg at 12, then to Wolfsburg from Augsburg’s Under-19s in 2022. A loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf in the 2. Bundesliga in 2024/25 brought frustration and a second metatarsal fracture. Last season, back at Wolfsburg, he finally broke through: 12 goals in 34 appearances across all competitions in a relegated side. Enough to convince bigger clubs he is ready for the next step.

Porto can also offer Champions League football, but not the week-to-week grind of a top-five league. For a player who wants to stay in Germany and build his name there, that matters. So does the distance from home. A move to Portugal would mean a new language, a new culture, and a very different career path.

Stuttgart, by contrast, offer both comfort and challenge.

Porto, the familiar spoiler

Porto are used to being the disruptors. They have already strengthened at centre-forward this summer, bringing back former Bundesliga striker Andre Silva from Elche. Their attacking plans were thrown off course when Samu Aghehowa, their rising star, suffered an ACL tear in February that will keep him out until around the end of October.

Since then, Terem Moffi, on loan from OGC Nice, and Turkey international Deniz Gül have shared the load. Neither managed to convince consistently. Pejcinovic, young and relatively affordable by elite standards, fits the classic Porto profile: buy early, develop, sell big.

For Stuttgart, the name Porto already carries a sting. The Portuguese side knocked them out of the Europa League last season in the round of 16. A 2-1 win in Stuttgart, with goals from Moffi and top talent Rodrigo Mora, set the tone. VfB then wasted a string of chances in the return leg in Portugal and went down 2-0. Tie over, lesson delivered.

Now Porto have reappeared in Stuttgart’s path, this time at the negotiating table rather than on the pitch. Different arena, same threat.

A transfer poker with no room for hesitation

The situation is clear. Wolfsburg want €25 million. Porto have already tested the waters with €23 million and are expected to come again. Stuttgart are preparing a €22 million offer, still short of the asking price but backed by the player’s preference and the lure of the Bundesliga.

Someone will have to blink.

If Stuttgart truly see Pejcinovic as a cornerstone of their Champions League rebuild, the next bid has to show it. If Porto believe he can be their next big export, they cannot afford to let a €2–3 million gap stop them.

Wolfsburg, sitting on a 21-year-old Germany Under-21 international under contract until 2029, can simply wait.

In a summer where every top club is hunting for goals, the question is no longer whether Dzenan Pejcinovic moves. It is which project he decides to make his own.