Marius Funk

ANALYSIS
Funk arrives having just helped Cottbus win promotion from the third division to the second division, making 34 appearances across the campaign and keeping nine clean sheets. Funk developed through Stuttgart's academy between 2011 and 2016, progressing from the U15 to the U21 and winning the German U17 championship in 2013, before going on to gain experience at Greuther Furth, Ingolstadt and Cottbus. He arrives with 128 third-division appearances, five second-division outings and eight Bundesliga games under his belt, as well as 21 caps across Germany's youth national teams. Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth praised his experience across multiple clubs and his character as key factors behind the recruitment, while Funk himself expressed his excitement at returning to a club he has followed closely since leaving, describing Stuttgart's rise back to the top of German football as the perfect environment for his return.