Bulinews Player of the Season Awards: VfL Wolfsburg's Player of the Season | OneFootball

Sixteenth in the table at the end of the season were VfL Wolfsburg, who finished with a 7-8-19 record and 29 points through their 34 matches. Despite the efforts of Dieter Hecking’s side to avoid relegation, Die Wölfe made it to the relegation playoff but were eventually demoted to the second division for the first time in their history after losing to SC Paderborn 07.

One player in particular stood out among the pack: German striker Dženan Pejčinović, who scored 8 goals in 31 matches in the 2025/26 season - and added another in the second leg of the playoff. The 21-year-old German youth international played his first full season at the club after a promising year on loan at 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf.

A constant threat for opponents inside the box, Pejčinović launched 51 attempts in the season, second among all players at the club (Mohamed Amoura - 60), and he led the club in shots on target with 23. He also improved on the defensive side, winning possession back for his side on nine occasions - a 67% improvement from the three that he registered at Düsseldorf in 2024/25.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCE:

Pejčinović had one very notable performance in the campaign, scoring three goals in a 56-minute span - and he did it against UEFA Europa League finalists SC Freiburg on December 20.

In the twelfth minute, Patrick Wimmer threaded a through ball to him on the left side of the box, and with completely open space, he made no mistake, deflecting the ball off the gloves of Noah Atubolu and into the top-right corner. The second was off an Atubolu mistake, intercepting a pass intended for Anthony Jung along the back line, and then tapping the ball into the bottom-left corner past the desperate goalkeeper. The third was a headed flick pass to the edge of the box from Wimmer, powered into the bottom-right corner.

Wolfsburg lost the match at Volkswagen Arena that afternoon by a 3-4 result, but the individual performance of Pejčinović that day proved his worth as a regular starter in the squad, then under Daniel Bauer as coach - and he followed with two more goals in the next two matches in January, against FC Bayern München and FC St. Pauli.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Tied for second in the Bulinews voting are Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen and Polish goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. Eriksen finished at the top of the team in scoring in his first season, with three goals and nine assists through thirty-one appearances; additionally, he was third in terms of shots (38) and shots on target (14). Grabara played all 34 matches, making 120 saves on 179 shots on target in his second season with the club - as well as denying three of the twelve penalties he faced (seven conceded).

Last year’s player of the season, Algerian striker Mohamed Amoura, picked up one vote, tied with Greek centre-back Konstantinos Koulierakis and Brazilian defensive midfielder Vinícius Souza. Amoura finished with eight goals and three assists through thirty matches in his second season with the club; Koulierakis was dominant in the last two months of the season, tallying four goals and an assist; and Souza finished without a goal or assist, but was second on the team in terms of tackles won (25), only behind French right-back Saël Kumbedi.