Finn Jeltsch is part of an illustrious circle. The VfB defender was recently nominated for the Golden Boy Web award, meaning he’s in with a chance of being crowned the best under-21 player in Europe. The final ranking for the accolade, which is run by Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport, is determined by fans’ votes. The nomination alone underlines Jeltsch’s development – he made 37 appearances in all competitions for the Cannstatt club in the 2025/26 campaign. Now he wants to build on that.
Double sessions and rest days
That’s why he also trained in the summer break. “On the one hand I used the time for holiday, and on the other I worked individually,” explained the centre-back. “I want to continue my progress. I’ve started pre-season with VfB very fit.” Jeltsch and his colleagues are currently hard at work having returned to training last Thursday.
Second friendly
“We have the odd double session as well as days where the workload is managed accordingly – it’s tiring but completely normal in pre-season,” said the 20-year-old. “Everyone in the team is really happy to be working together again.” On Saturday 25 July, Sebastian Hoeneß’s men play their second pre-season game with the ‘JAKO Friendly’ against FSV Hollenbach in Mulfingen, which kicks off at 15:00 CEST.
