Deniz Undav

VfB Stuttgart · Forward · Germany · 1,239 min

Ballity Verdict

What makes this player special?

Confidence · high

Deniz Undav covers both boxes. He is not a specialist who only protects or only arrives late — he is the midfielder who can win it, carry it, and still show up in the final third. That two-way presence is what makes him hard to replace in VfB Stuttgart's structure.

What separates Undav from ordinary specialists is breadth inside a coherent family: credible as poacher, and still trustworthy when asked to step toward channel runner. That is versatility with a purpose — not a random scatter of average roles.

On the pitch he has actually been used as CF (#9) / SS. That matters: skill-set breadth is one thing; demonstrated deployment is another. Undav's authenticity claim starts from those minutes, not from a role board alone.

The trade-off is real: poacher shows up as a structural caveat in the profile. Any club buying the upside has to decide whether that hole is tolerable in their system — or whether they will need complementary players beside him.

Why Ballity says this

  • Midfield / role totality: poacher, channel runner, shadow striker
  • Shown minutes: CF (#9) / SS
  • Known caveat: poacher
Receipts
  • · Player Profile
  • · Role Breadth
  • · Deployment authenticity
  • · Sample · featured

Position

Forward

Appearances

15

Great+ roles

1

Age

30

Preferred foot

Both

Height

179 cm

Ballity insights

Peer context vs forwards — how often they get the ball and what they do with it. Separate from role tiers above. Attackers also split separation into on-ball (dribble-created) and off-ball (movement).

Usage rate

Share of team touches (non-GK) among forwards with match data.

10.1% team touches

Peer band · Low

Pool percentile

38.6%

Also 44.8 touches/90 (season aggregate).

Efficiency

Output quality per action for forwards.

50 score

Peer band · Low

Pool percentile

32.8%

xG per shot 0.159Goals / npxG 1.06Goals /90 0.51

On-ball separation

Dribble-created space and self-made shot quality.

29 score

Peer band · Low

Pool percentile

32.8%

1v1 win % 26.3Self-created shot share % 38.7Dribbles won/90 0.5Fast break (self-created) % 34.5

Off-ball separation

Movement-created space on assisted attempts.

68 score

Peer band · Average

Pool percentile

46.6%

Unblocked (assisted) % 71.7Shadow zone (assisted) % 73.9Arrival zone (assisted) % 52.2Central channel (assisted) % 73.9xG per assisted shot 0.1

Balance & structural weaknesses

How complete this player is on the position's job board — strengths and holes.

How we define this

Two-way = Great+ on ≥2 complementary axes. One-way = every other route Limited/closed. Weak routes = Average holes on complementary axes.

Weak routesStriker

Strong as Poacher (Great)

Weak routes

Target Man · Limited

Stat profile

Within Striker peers — percentile shape (not role scores).

Carrying 92Creation 89Ball Progressor 89Underperforming XG
Creation89
Ball Progressor89
Carrying92
Finishing55
Defending41
Duels8
Tempo87
Box threat89

Versatility Index

Precise 0–100 score — cross-group breadth (67%) plus within-group depth (33%), quality-scaled by tier. Distinct from the shape card below.

2 groups · 5 roles
39/ 100

Index

38.9

Breadth 23.5 · Depth 15.5

FullbacksCentre-backsMidfielders · EliteWingersForwards · Great
  • ·Midfielders: Box Crasher (Elite), Creator (Great)
  • ·Forwards: Poacher (Great), Shadow Striker (Great), Channel Runner (Good)

Versatility shape

Coarse directional pattern (Specialist / Dual-threat / Generalist) — not the 0–100 Index above.

Great

Specialist

Great Specialist
1

Distinct Great+

1 Great+ roles total

Where he plays

Positions with deployment evidence — not statistical guesses.

Natural

CFCFShadow Striker
SSSSShadow Striker

Role translations

Where the profile could fit. Tap a position — then see which role style suits it.

NaturalValidatedSupportedStrongPlausibleExploratory

Select a position on the pitch to see the best role, alternatives, and evidence.

Role-by-role detail

How each role is scored. Expand a row for a radar of role-shaped stats.

Similar players

Shape match across forward roles — cosine similarity of role scores (domestic leagues only). Slot 1 is the best same-league match; the rest are the next closest from the full pool.

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