Mirza Catovic

Key strength: Ball retention

Deep-lying playmaker

At just 18 years old, Serbian prodigy Mirza Catovic is quietly emerging as VfB Stuttgart's most intriguing project. Sitting 5th in the Bundesliga standings, Die Schwaben are banking on youth to fuel their resurgence, and Catovic - deployed as a deep-lying playmaker - represents the club's faith in raw potential. Despite his modest 40 overall rating and youth-circuit experience, the €1.2M market value already attached to him signals serious promise. Operating in a role demanding composure, Catovic's passing (55) and ball retention stand as his clearest assets, though his defensive stats (45) reveal the raw edges of his game still needing polish. The competition is fierce: he's training alongside established names like 80-rated Angelo Stiller in the same position and learning from Stuttgart's attacking stars - Ermedin Demirovic, Deniz Undav, and Jamie Leweling - who are scoring at a championship pace. With Stuttgart's recent form showing inconsistency, Catovic's development could prove crucial. His journey from Serbia's youth system to the Bundesliga spotlight is a story of patience meeting opportunity.