Semi pro to Premier League: Deniz Undav could be a German Jamie Vardy
Brighton & Hove Albion paid £7 million to Union-Saint Gilloise to sign German striker Deniz Undav on the final day of the January transfer window. The forward has made it to the Premier League through sheer hard work with a story that has echoes of Jamie Vardy about it.
We will have to wait until the summer to see Undav in an Albion shirt as he has been loaned back to Union for the rest of the season. When he does arrive in England, he has the ability to make a massive difference to our forward power.
Undav is not the only player who will come over from Belgium for the 2022-23 season, of course. Brighton also strengthened their squad in January with Polish midfielder Kasper Kozlowski, who was instantly sent to Union.
Also playing for Tony Bloom’s Belgian club is Kaoru Mitoma. If the Japanese international qualifies for a work permit soon, then he too could boost Graham Potter’s attacking options in the not-too-distant future.
An exciting summer of new faces will lie in store if all three arrive in Brighton as Belgian champions. Union’s spot at the top of the table owes a lot to Undav, who tops the scoring charts in the Jupiler League.
When you add his assists, then Undav has been involved in more goals than any other player in any European top division so far this season.
Like Vardy, Undav comes from humble beginnings and faced rejection at a young age. Born in Germany with Turkish routes, he had a dream early on of becoming a professional footballer.
After joining Werder Bremen’s academy, he picked up the nickname of famous German footballer Gerd Muller.
Like Muller, Undav held the ball up impressively and these comparisons to one of the greatest ever forwards of all time led Undav to begin copying Muller’s style even more.
Unfortunately, Undav did not make it with Werder having been told at the age of 14 that he had no future at the club. Despite being devastated, he never gave up.
Undav started working in a factory, earning the English equivalent of £120 per week. Eventually, he found a semi-professional club willing to give him a chance and joined TSV Havelse in the German regional leagues whilst still working in the factory.
After scoring plenty of goals for Havelse and another Regionalliga Nord side SV Meppen, Undav got his big break when joining Union in 2020.
He has enjoyed a fantastic two years with Union and his great scoring record helped them to promotion last season and a first place in the Jupiler League so far this season.
Undav averages better than a goal every two games throughout his career. He is a footballing hero for the true belief and determination he has shown never to give up on his dream, no matter how hard it was when he was rejected by Bremen and had to work in that factory.
His perseverance and hard work have allowed him to prove himself one of the most clinical, skilful and talented scorers in Europe.
Brighton are privileged to have him and there is the promise of more still to come. He is only 25 and a late starter as a pro. His peak years will be with the Albion.
With Undav in the team, next season is already setting up to be even more exciting than the current one. I cannot wait.
Clint Elliott @ClintElliott10
