Pejčinović reveals Tottenham past ahead of Harry Kane showdown | OneFootball

Dženan Pejčinović could hardly have asked for a bigger stage for his first league appearance in a Stuttgart shirt, with VfB taking on Bayern Munich in the ‘Südschlager’ on opening night. 

The summer signing heads into the fixture full of confidence after scoring a hat-trick on his competitive debut for die Schwaben, describing his treble against Hansa Rostock as an “absolute dream start.”

Now, the 21-year-old is preparing for a very different challenge against the record Bundesliga champions. 

“I think excitement and desire are definitely the biggest things for me,” Pejčinović said in this week's “Midweek Interviews” segment by the Bundesliga. 

“I think you don't always get a start like this against a team like that, so you look forward to it. At the same time, you want to show that we're going to give everything and make it as difficult as possible for them,” he added. 

Earlier this month, the striker joined the club for €25 million, becoming the second-most expensive signing in Stuttgart's history, behind Deniz Undav.

During his spell at Wolfsburg, he was on the wrong end of an 8-1 scoreline against Friday's opponents, with Pejčinović scoring in the defeat at the Allianz. 

Despite the heavy scoreline, he insists that VfB cannot approach the clash with fear. 

“Of course, you have to have respect for every team, but I don't see any reason to be afraid or to sit back,” he said.

“I think we, and especially me, have to operate at 110%, and then we'll see where we stand after 90 minutes.”

One player Pejčinović is familiar with on the opposite side is Harry Kane, who the striker describes as a benchmark for his own game. 

“My friends know this: I used to be a Tottenham fan because Harry Kane played there,” Pejčinović revealed. 

“For me, he's a player I love watching because, both offensively and defensively against the ball, he does things that not every striker does. I absolutely love that, and that's why I always try to pick up little things from him.” 

Pejčinović already owns a shirt from the England international, after picking one up following a meeting with Bayern two years ago, but he stressed that this has to be put aside once the game begins. 

“During the game he's an opponent just like everyone else,” and first of all it's about doing our job, or my job, for the team."

Looking ahead to the clash between the two southern giants, the striker believes that matching Bayern's intensity will be key if his new side are to cause problems.

"I've personally played against Bayern twice now, and I've noticed that if you really go to the limit - and unfortunately that's not 100%, but 110%, as I like to say - because Bayern are strong man-to-man and aggressive all the time, then I think if you try to beat them with their own weapons, you can definitely make it difficult for them. 

“Of course, you won't have many chances in the game, and the chances you do have probably have to go in. But as I said, I think a lot of it comes down to fighting and hard work.”