Not only did Jeff Chabot find his way from the Rhine to the Neckar after the season ended, but his teammate Justin Diehl will also be wearing the Brustring starting next season. However, under different circumstances. We spoke with Thomas Reinscheid from effzeh.com about him.
The backdrop to the transfers of Jeff Chabot and Justin Diehl from 1. FC Köln to VfB Stuttgart couldn’t be more different. On one side is the leader who led the fight against relegation and whom many wish well in his move; on the other side is the local talent who dominated the Regionalliga in the first half of the season but was not played by the pros due to a lack of willingness to extend his contract, leading to some bitter disappointment after his suspension during the relegation battle at the Rhine. With Justin Diehl, after Darko Churlinov and Niko Nartey, the third former Köln youth player in the span of a few years is moving to VfB. The work in Köln’s NLZ (youth academy) cannot be praised highly enough given the infrastructural challenges — FC also lacks fields and functional buildings — and the sometimes financially strong local competition from Mönchengladbach, Leverkusen, Dortmund, or Schalke, says Thomas. This is also reflected in their sporting achievements, both in very successful U19 and U17 teams, and in the fact that many players from the NLZ make it to the Bundesliga — although not always with the Billy Goat on their chest.
Diehl was born on November 27, 2004, in Cologne and joined FC at the age of seven, playing through their teams up to the professional squad. He won the West-Bundesliga with the under 17 in 2020 and the DFB Cup last year. At the same time, he also went through the DFB youth teams and currently plays in the U20. In early 2023, he made his Bundesliga debut at 18 in FC’s 7–1 win against Werder Bremen, but only had one more brief appearance and two bench places, while contributing nine goals in 15 league games and nine points, including five goals in five cup games, to the U19’s successful season. Due to his long training in the NLZ and his Cologne origin, there was considerable pride in Diehl’s development, reports Thomas. However, the hype was limited, knowing that with his contract expiring in 2024, he likely wouldn’t stay in Cologne long, especially as his initial performances were not outstanding.
Down and Up Again
Long before the last season began, FC had already sought a contract extension, Thomas reports, but Diehl’s management agency rigorously blocked it, seeing him as more advanced than the club did. It is, as some might have guessed, the same management agency that likely advised Roberto Massimo to choose the second Portuguese league over more appealing offers from the second Bundesliga, and which astonishingly has many Hoffenheim players under its wing — and unfortunately, also Dennis Seimen. Thomas aligns more with the club’s view than the agent’s on Diehl’s development and understands former coach Steffen Baumgart’s decision to demote Diehl to the second team. This would free up a squad place for a talent committed to FC’s future. The decision was controversial, though, as Cologne struggled with injuries to many attackers like Luca Waldschmidt, Mark Uth, and Davie Selke, while Diehl scored 12 goals in 19 fourth-league games. Thomas concludes: “In the end, all parties lost in this case. FC lost an interesting offensive option. Justin Diehl missed out on significant Bundesliga playing time. And the management agency didn’t reflect the represented player’s market value accordingly.”
In winter, Baumgart was replaced by the now-dismissed Timo Schultz, who brought Diehl back to the pros. In the second half of the season, he made seven appearances, including against VfB (see above). Thomas shares the impression many VfB fans had of Diehl in that game: In some scenes, his potential shone through, but over the long term, he still lacked some qualities for a Bundesliga player, which is no surprise at 19. Thomas doesn’t see Diehl, who was also set back by injuries, making a significant difference in the relegation fight with more appearances, despite the underwhelming performances of his teammates. Reversing the non-sporting demotion to the Regionalliga for sporting reasons is also viewed critically. Similarly, Diehl’s behavior during the Union Berlin game, when he posted pictures from a wedding he attended while FC was briefly escaping relegation, was not well received. Players like Pacarada or Kilian, on the other hand, stood in the away end to cheer their teammates.
Fast, Explosive, Persistent
So, what does Diehl bring to Stuttgart, aside from a recently challenging relationship with priorities? He is “extremely fast, explosive, strong in dribbling, and eager to score,” explains Thomas, and doesn’t let weak actions get him down, showing enough confidence to keep trying. A persistence that few young players have today. Thomas sees him best deployed as a second striker alongside a target man or as a winger. However, he still needs to work on his defensive work, tactical discipline, and decision-making — a classic set of weaknesses often mentioned in recent years in new player introductions. He also needs to improve his physicality, as he was given longer breaks due to injuries in the NLZ. Despite recent differences, Thomas describes Diehl as a nice, quiet, and reserved person who is also very devout.
Whether we will see Justin Diehl in the Bundesliga with Red Stripe next season, as in Cologne, remains to be seen. Thomas would have found a move to a club on Köln’s level more sensible for gaining playing time. He could imagine Diehl getting time in the 3rd league or being loaned out to gain this experience, as he doesn’t see him in the Bundesliga squad given the competition. That VfB would use a player they reportedly paid a decent signing bonus for in the 3. Liga seems unlikely after his history in Cologne. A loan seems more plausible, depending on how the pre-season goes. It’s also possible he impresses in the pre-season, but replacing someone like Chris Führich — Diehl also played on the left attack against us — seems unlikely in the short term. At VfB, he signed until 2029, for five years, much like Wahid Faghir back then, who, like Ömer Beyaz, turned out more as a transfer for the sporting director’s gallery than a promising talent. As already mentioned in the article about Jeff Chabot, it’s unproductive to pigeonhole players around 20 years old. Fabian Wohlgemuth described Diehl upon signing as one of the most exciting players in his position in Germany. Let’s hope things calm down off the pitch for him and that he gets — and takes — the time to develop.
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