Younger Khedira follows in Sami's Stuttgart footsteps

Rani Khedira is following in the footsteps of his brother, Germany international Sami, by being promoted to the professional squad of Stuttgart. The 18-year-old will start training with the first team with immediate effect, taking the place of Mamadou Bah, who has been dropped to the reserves due to personal reasons. "We are therefore bringing forward the plan we had for next summer of feeding Rani Khedira into the first team and of integrating him and constantly pushing on his development," said the club's director of sport, Fredi Bobic. "He can therefore gain valuable experience at this level in training without any pressure." Rani has come through the youth ranks at Stuttgart, like Sami, who spent 15 years at the club before moving to Real Madrid in 2010 after four seasons in the first-team squad. Bah free to leave Bah, meanwhile, is free to find himself a new club in the winter. "Unfortunately, his private situation does not mean he can concentrate fully on sport," said Bobic. "But we respect his private life. If an interest club makes an approach in the winter, then we will not stand in his way." From Fifa