Hütter returns to Eintracht as Wolfsburg are relegated, adidas TORFABRIK back for 2026/27
Main stories
Eintracht Frankfurt have reappointed Adi Hütter as head coach on a contract running until 30 June 2029, the club confirmed on 31 May. The 56-year-old Austrian rejoins five years after his first spell ended in 2021, when he led Frankfurt to a Europa League semi-final. According to Bundesliga.com and bulinews, Hütter takes charge on 1 July following his October 2025 dismissal at AS Monaco.
VfL Wolfsburg have been relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in their history after losing the relegation playoff to SC Paderborn 2-1 on aggregate. Laurin Curda settled the tie in the 10th minute of extra time, with Wolfsburg reduced to ten men from the 13th minute of the second leg, ESPN reported. The defeat ends a 29-season top-flight run.
adidas confirmed on 1 June that the TORFABRIK match ball returns to the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 for 2026/27, marking the brand's comeback as official ball supplier after eight seasons away. The design borrows panel elements from the 2006 TEAMGEIST and uses black, red and gold colours. The ball will also be used at the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, the relegation playoffs and the new "Bundesliga Talent Series" U21 competition.
Harry Kane received the kicker Torjägerkanone for the second season running on Saturday, formally crowning the Bayern striker as the Bundesliga's leading scorer after the club's final-day fixture against 1. FC Köln. Deniz Undav, who finished as the top German-born scorer with 19 goals for VfB Stuttgart, was named in Julian Nagelsmann's World Cup squad on the strength of that return, per Bundesliga.com.
Transfer and squad notes
Deniz Undav has signed an early extension with VfB Stuttgart, kicker reports. The 29-year-old striker's new deal is signed but awaiting official announcement from the club.
Bayern Munich's pursuit of Anthony Gordon ended without a deal after the Newcastle winger completed his £69.3m move to FC Barcelona on 29 May. Sporting director Max Eberl had publicly held an agreement with the player for several weeks before Barcelona reached terms with Newcastle, according to Bavarian Football Works.
The Bundesliga's summer rebuild is being framed by Julian Nagelsmann's final 26-man Germany squad for the FIFA World Cup, named on 21 May. Manuel Neuer reversed his international retirement and will start in goal alongside Oliver Baumann and Alexander Nübel; Bayern's Lennart Karl is among the new faces in a group captained by Joshua Kimmich. Germany open Group E against Curaçao in Houston on 14 June.
What it means for the league
Wolfsburg's drop and Hütter's Frankfurt return frame a summer of upper-table reshuffling: Eintracht get a coach with a UEFA pedigree, while a Volkswagen-backed club faces a second-tier rebuild. Bayern's failure to land Gordon — the only attacker Max Eberl publicly courted before the window — pushes their plans toward the Eichhorn-and-Godts tier of targets rather than a marquee signing. The 2026/27 Bundesliga season kicks off on 28 August, after the World Cup final.