Defender Josha Vagnoman could yet leave VfB Stuttgart this summer, apparently.
According to a report by Sky, Hull City are pushing hard to sign Vagnoman. The newly promoted Premier League side have increased their offer from €5.5 million to €6.5 million. VfB would also keep 50 per cent of the 25-year-old’s transfer rights and could therefore profit from any future move.
For now, though, VfB have still not given the green light for a move to England. Vagnoman and Hull have not yet reached an agreement either, with talks still ongoing according to Sky. If the deal goes through, the two-time Germany international is set to sign a four-year Premier League contract until 2030. There is still time until Tuesday evening, when the summer transfer window closes.
Earlier this summer, VfB had viewed Vagnoman as a candidate to be sold. Last week, however, Bild reported that the Swabians now definitely want to keep the full-back after Nikolas Nartey was ruled out through injury. Vagnoman’s contract runs until 2028.
How did Josha Vagnoman start the season at VfB Stuttgart?
The Hamburg-born defender started both of VfB’s competitive matches in the early stages of the season. In last Friday’s 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga opener, he produced a curious brace within minutes: first, Vagnoman scored to make it 1-1 in the 52nd minute, then shortly afterwards he turned the ball into his own net to make it 3-1 from Stuttgart’s perspective with an own goal (57th).
Since joining VfB from HSV in 2022, Vagnoman has made 126 competitive appearances for Stuttgart, scoring 10 goals and providing 14 assists. In Hull’s 3-4-2-1 system, captain Lewie Coyle would be his main rival at right wing-back. The promoted side opened the new Premier League season with a surprising 2-0 home win over Manchester United, then followed it up last weekend with a 1-0 away victory against fellow promoted side Coventry City. Their first six points in the fight for survival are already on the board.
At international level, Vagnoman has won two caps for Germany. He made his debut in March 2023 in a 3-2 friendly defeat against Belgium, then was not called up again for three years. In March this year, then Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann surprisingly brought the Stuttgart player back in for the friendlies against Switzerland and Ghana, and Vagnoman came on after around an hour in the 2-1 win over the Africans. He subsequently did not make the World Cup squad, and Vagnoman is hoping for a fresh chance under Nagelsmann’s successor Jürgen Klopp.