Gloom in Strasbourg: ex-HSV man Baldé frozen out! | OneFootball

Fabio Baldé left HSV for Strasbourg in the summer and is still struggling to find his footing.

At first, the winger was given the trust of coach Hugo Oliveira, coming on for 11 minutes in the opening match in Marseille (0–4) despite having completed only a few training sessions. After that, however, his playing time did not increase, but rather decreased. In the 2–1 win over last season’s runners-up Lens, Baldé only entered the pitch in the final minute of regular time. In the following three league matches, he was left out completely and was not even named on the bench.

The difficult start for the Hamburg-born player was not entirely unexpected, as he had not played a single preseason match before his move on August 14 due to minor injuries. In addition, Baldé, whose game at the highest level relies heavily on his pace, has to contend with strong competition. Players such as Sebastian Nanasi, Morocco international Gessime Yassine, and Samuel Amo-Ameyaw are currently preferred.

Photo: IMAGO

Strasbourg: Baldé was one of many expensive transfers

The €7 million transfer fee may look like a major vote of confidence at first glance, but for the Alsace-based club—run by the US investor consortium BlueCo, just like the equally free-spending Premier League side Chelsea—it has now become standard. Baldé was only the seventh-most expensive signing of the past transfer window. In total, Racing Strasbourg spent almost €100 million on new arrivals.

Around a fifth of that, incidentally, went on centre-back Karim Coulibaly, who was developed at HSV and ultimately made his Bundesliga breakthrough with northern rivals Werder Bremen. Baldé, by contrast, was denied that breakthrough. Last season, partly due to physical issues, he made only 17 competitive appearances and recorded two goal contributions.

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A regular starting spot seemed out of reach, both because of coach Merlin Polzin’s chosen system, which includes only two clear wide positions, and in comparison with the direct competition. The split therefore made sense for both sides.

“Fabio’s path from our youth academy into international football is a great story for everyone involved,” said HSV board member for sport Kathleen Krüger, referring to the highest transfer income since the sale of Amadou Onana (to OSC Lille in 2021). However, Baldé will need to improve in the autumn if his move to the livable city of Strasbourg is also to become “a great story” for him.

Photo: IMAGO

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