Manchester United are reported to have made a late but unsuccessful approach for VfB Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller the day before the summer transfer window closed.
United spent heavily on new attacking recruits to help address last season’s low Premier League output, as well as securing the services of emerging Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
Midfield was also an area to strengthen in an ideal world, having notably lacked presence and control during last month’s 1–1 draw against Fulham in the Premier League. There were flirtations with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba, but any potential deal there was shelved over a prohibitive valuation of the Cameroonian.
Atlético Madrid’s Conor Gallagher was also floated as a potential Deadline Day target, while BILD now writes of a failed late move for Stiller.
The German publication notes that Stiller ultimately wasn’t looking to leave Stuttgart this year, currently satisfied with his “guaranteed” status as a starter. His immediate target is a role with Germany at the 2026 World Cup next summer, and adapting to a new project in a new league and country might be a gamble when his place in the national team is much more fragile than at club level.
It is only after the World Cup when Stiller, who has openly admitted that his eventual desire is to move abroad after witnessing Florian Wirtz take the plunge by joining Liverpool this summer, will consider a future away from Stuttgart.
Formerly of Bayern Munich’s youth and reserve teams, Stiller’s career took off when he joined Hoffenheim in 2021, before reaching new heights since moving to Stuttgart two years ago. He made his senior Germany debut last September but has only accumulated four appearances to date.
Manchester United’s interest in Stiller was first reported just over a week before their eventual alleged approach, while links with Real Madrid—billed as a replacement for Luka Modrić in anticipation of his post-Club World Cup release—emerged much earlier in the summer.
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