Costa in spotlight after Kuntz exit: his winter transfers reviewed | OneFootball

The sudden departure of Stefan Kuntz caused a stir at the beginning of the year at HSV. Claus Costa now finds himself in a central role.

He has been working for Hamburger SV for over six years. Since March 2023, Costa has been serving as the sports director, having recently extended his contract. He already had significant influence on transfers. However, with the departure of sports board member Stefan Kuntz, whose position will not be immediately filled, the 41-year-old gains even more responsibility.

So far, Costa, who was once brought in as chief scout by Jonas Boldt, has participated in five winter transfer periods. The results, however, leave much to be desired. In total, twelve professionals came, most of whom quickly faded into oblivion. Loan players like Louis Schaub, Giorgi Chakvetadze, Masaya Okugawa, or Adedire Mebude failed to make any notable impact.

Pohjanpalo delivered, Montero faltered continuously

Javi Montero turned into a memorable flop, having been loaned from Besiktas in response to Mario Vuskovic's doping finding. During his five appearances, he received two yellow-red cards and was involved in several conceded goals. The sports magazine kicker rated the Spaniard's performances with a 6.0 three times in a row. After the lost relegation against Stuttgart, Montero, now playing for FC Malaga, parted ways with HSV.

András Németh also remained unsuccessful, for whom the Hanseatics paid a fee of 750,000 euros to KRC Genk. He started promisingly with two substitute goals in his first three games. However, the striker then consistently failed to score. He remained goalless in Germany – even during his loan to Preußen Münster – for over two and a half years, ending the drought only after moving to Hungary.

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Another center forward is considered the only winter success since Costa's arrival. Joel Pohjanpalo joined on loan from Bayer Leverkusen at the beginning of 2020, where the then HSV sports board member Boldt had already worked with him, and scored nine times in 14 appearances. An impressive rate, which ultimately did not lead to promotion, as the Rothosen increasingly faltered during the ghost games. After a memorable 1:5 home defeat against Sandhausen, they had to settle for fourth place.

The Finn is now chasing goals in the Italian Serie B and continues to reliably do his job there. The search for a striker is also one of the prevailing topics in the current transfer window. If Costa manages a similar coup as with Pohjanpalo, it is highly likely that HSV, which has only celebrated three striker goals so far this season, will safely achieve the goal of staying in the league.

Costa is in demand more than ever

Last winter, Costa, who was equipped with many freedoms, together with Kuntz, failed to directly strengthen the squad. Although five million euros were spent on Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit and Aboubaka Soumahoro, they either had to adapt to the much more intense and physical style of play or struggled with injury problems.

However, the duo showed in the first half of the season that they can help HSV. Røssing-Lelesiit extended his contract just before Christmas with the club. For Costa, it is now important to find a good mix of players with great potential and established players who can hit the ground running. HSV wants to strengthen itself in several positions. While there is an urgent need for action in the attack, an alternative to Miro Muheim should be established at left-back or a pre-emptive move for a possible summer transfer should be made.

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Regardless, the traditionally low HSV goal rate in winter should increase. Even since Costa joined, there has been no improvement. After Stefan Kuntz's departure, he has the final say – and is therefore more in the spotlight than ever before!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.