Dennis Seimen will make his Bundesliga debut at SC Paderborn on Saturday after Stuttgart confirmed the 20-year-old as their first-choice goalkeeper.
Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß ended the selection debate before the 15:30 kick-off in Paderborn. Seimen returned from a thigh tendon injury in last week’s 5-0 friendly win over Greuther Fürth and has now completed the final checks following his disrupted pre-season.
“We have made the decision and already communicated it: Dennis Seimen will play on Saturday,” Hoeneß said.
Seimen resumes planned role
Seimen had returned in the summer from his loan spell at Paderborn, where his performances made a major contribution to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga. Stuttgart had designated him as Alexander Nübel’s successor, but the injury sustained during preparation ruled him out of the opening weeks.
Fabian Bredlow started all six competitive matches in Seimen’s absence and impressed with his displays. Hoeneß said those performances allowed Stuttgart to avoid rushing their young goalkeeper back.
“Dennis Seimen is number one and he began the season in that position. Nothing has changed,” Hoeneß said. “Fabi Bredlow did a great job. That made the decision much easier because there was no pressure to force anything. It is moving quickly now, but we still gave ourselves time and completed all the tests.”
Bredlow remains key cover
Hoeneß ruled out a formal rotation between the two goalkeepers. Bredlow has been told he is the deputy, although Stuttgart expect him to feature during a demanding campaign.
“I would not call it job-sharing,” Hoeneß said. “Fabi knows he is number two. We have an outstanding goalkeeper group. He has again shown that he is an excellent number two, and we absolutely trust him to play matches.”
Stuttgart will need to manage Seimen’s workload in his first Bundesliga season, particularly with Champions League fixtures also on the calendar. That makes Bredlow’s reliability an important part of Hoeneß’s planning.
