VfB Stuttgart confirmed the loan departure of Badredine Bouanani to Rangers on Thursday while also losing striker Tiago Tomás to injury. These personnel issues overshadow the home opener against 1. FC Köln, coming after a 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich left the club bottom of the Bundesliga table.
Badredine Bouanani is leaving VfB Stuttgart for the season on a loan move to Scotland. The 21-year-old Algerian winger has completed his medical with Glasgow Rangers and will join the Scottish Premiership side for the entire 2026/27 campaign. Rangers are also said to hold an option to buy the player, who was signed from OGC Nice for a fee of around £13 million last year.
Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth explained the move was necessary for Bouanani's development. "For his further development, it is important to play regularly at a high level," Wohlgemuth said in a club statement. "Glasgow Rangers offer very good conditions for that." Bouanani, who is under contract with Stuttgart until June 2030, made only nine starts and 13 substitute appearances last season.
Tiago Tomás will be sidelined for VfB Stuttgart for several weeks. Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß announced in the press conference before the Köln match that the Portuguese striker sustained a muscle injury in training. According to Hoeneß, Tomás will only return "after the international break." The 24-year-old is expected to rejoin team training during the national team break.
Tomás's absence comes at an inconvenient time. He had started both of Stuttgart's competitive matches this season, the DFB-Pokal win at Hansa Rostock and the Bundesliga defeat in Munich. Before the international break at the end of September, important matches await in the Champions League against Viking Stavanger and Bundesliga fixtures against TSG Hoffenheim and Borussia Dortmund. The current league table shows VfB in last place with zero points and a goal difference of -4, three points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
The injury list at VfB Stuttgart continues to grow. In addition to Tomás, Hoeneß must do without several other players. These include goalkeeper Dennis Seimen, Luca Jaquez, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Nikolas Nartey, Jeremy Arevalo, and Justin Diehl.
There is some positive news from the training ground, however. Lorenz Assignon has fully returned to team training, and Chris Führich has also participated in "large parts of the week" according to Hoeneß. New signing Leo Sauer will be in the matchday squad for the Köln game for the first time. The numerous absences present the squad with an early-season test, especially as the team has yet to earn a point in the Bundesliga.
The personnel issues hit VfB Stuttgart in the middle of a demanding start to the season. The first home match of the campaign on Friday evening against 1. FC Köln must be played with a depleted squad. This is followed by the Champions League home game against Norwegian side Viking Stavanger on September 9th.
The next Bundesliga fixture then takes place on September 12th away at TSG Hoffenheim. The opponent from Sinsheim currently sits in 12th place in the table. Before this match, VfB Stuttgart has the opportunity to put the first defeat of the season behind them and reconnect with the competition in the league. Sebastian Hoeneß's team must show in the coming weeks that they remain competitive despite the personnel shortages.
