Did Brighton make a mistake in loaning Deniz Undav to Stuttgart?

When Deniz Undav swapped Brighton for Stuttgart on loan last summer, how many people predicted the striker would subsequently become a German international who could lead the line for his country in a home European Championships?

A rough guess would be zero… unless an industrial level of LSD had been taken beforehand. And yet Undav lighting up the Bundesliga to force his way into the national side is exactly what has happened.

15 goals and six assists in 25 games for Stuttgart saw Undav called into Die Mannschaft squad. He made his debut as a substitute in Saturday’s 2-0 win away against France, a result which suggested those writing off Germany ahead of Euro 2024 have maybe been a little quick off the mark.

It means the surreal scenario could yet play out of a striker sent out on loan by the Albion going onto fire Germany to European Championship glory; a far cry from the days when the only clubs wanting to take Seagulls forwards on loan were the likes of Worthing and Eastbourne Borough.

Needless to say, the success of Undav has led many Albion fans to question why Brighton allowed him to leave on loan in the summer?

A striker good enough to play for Germany and be the fourth highest scorer in the Bundesliga this season might have been quite useful to the Albion during a campaign in which Europa League football was always likely to stretch the squad to its maximum.

As always, hindsight is a wonderful thing. For much of last season, Undav made little to no impression on English football. Had he departed in January 2023, few eyelids would have been batted.

There were many reasons for Undav making a slow start to life at Brighton. The step up from Belgian Jupiler League to Premier League is bigger than a lot of people realise, especially for a forward.

Brighton have spent big on players who were goal machines in the Netherlands and Belgium before, only for them to fail to replicate that form in England. Hello, DJ Jurgen Locadia and Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

Undav also struggled to settle. It was reported that he had some personal problems through his first five months with Brighton, as well as suffering from homesickness.

This homesickness went beyond the inability to find a good kebab or sausage in Sussex, highlighted by Undav in an interview which made him an instant WAB favourite.

Any player whose primary concern in life is the standard of bratwurst or doner meat and chips is a man after my own heart.

That and scoring a goal at the right end, a goal at the wrong end and getting booked whilst giving away a free kick leading to another go in a quite incredible hour’s work at Newcastle United last May.

Something though eventually clicked for Undav entering the final month of the campaign. Nobody knows what, but my theory is he finally discovered Sussex’s finest kebab shop, Ali Baba in Southwick Square.

Whatever the reasoning, five goals in the last eight games suggested the patience shown by Brighton had paid off. A happier, confident Undav seemed set to contribute more in 2023-24.

Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri announcing that Undav was set to move to Stuttgart therefore came totally out of the blue.

Plenty of Albion fans confidently labelled Tavolieri as making shit up for interactions; letting Undav go when he had finally started scoring goals would be a move that made little sense. Tavolieri though was proven right with the scoop ahead of Fabrizio Romano or Andy Naylor.

Brighton loaning Undav to Stuttgart split opinion almost 50-50 at the time. For all those who wanted Undav to be given more minutes in 2023-24 for Brighton (and more interviews about food), there were an equal number who felt the move made sense.

Joao Pedro had been signed for £30 million, increasing competition through the middle of the front line. With De Zerbi wedded to 4-2-3-1, it meant Undav was fourth choice for a single starting spot behind Danny Welbeck, Evan Ferguson and the Albion’s new record buy.

Then there is what the player himself wanted. The homesickness was one issue. Another was Undav being 27-years-old, an age when strikers tend to hit their peak.

He needed to be playing regular first team football for the good of his career. Something which was not guaranteed at Brighton in 2023-24.

So, there were arguments for and against. When Undav’s move to Stuttgart was confirmed, we wrote: “Have the Albion made the right decision? It is impossible to know at this moment in time and that is why the debate swirls.”

What we can say with certainty seven months later is that Undav has been an overwhelming success at Stuttgart, with his form so good that manager Sebastian Hoeness switched from his own favoured formation using only one striker to fit both Undav and 22-goal Sehrou Guirassy into the same XI.

The other question arising from Undav’s prolific campaign is whether it means he now has a future with Brighton?

Undav made his feeling pretty clear on the matter, saying after his Germany debut that he hoped a permanent switch to Stuttgart would take place this summer.

“The faster this is possible, the happier I would be, but it is a slow process,” said Undav. “I can’t decide this alone, because there are also other parties you have to talk to.”

“Let’s see what happens. I try not to put any pressure on myself and am relaxed. If it’s fast, it’s fast and if it takes longer, that’s just the way it is. You can only hope that it will work out the way you want.”

Stuttgart are rumoured to have an option to buy at somewhere around the £12 million mark. That would make Undav their record signing, should it be activated.

Guirassy is widely expected to leave MHPArena in a big money move, which would both increase Stuttgart’s eagerness to keep Undav and give them the buying power to afford it.

Should Stuttgart take up their right-to-buy, we will not see Undav in a Brighton shirt again. If they don’t, the Albion have an interesting decision to make about whether a German international striker is surplus to requirements and should be sold.

A mad sentence to be writing if you remember David Cameron (Scottish forward rather than current Foreign Secretary) leading the line for Brighton.