“He’s seen it all before”: Will Downs’ time at Köln help him at HSV? | OneFootball

In the battle to avoid relegation, HSV is placing great hopes in Damion Downs. The club’s management worked on the deal for three weeks.

Downs’ opening schedule could hardly be tougher. Within eight days, three challenging tasks await with Freiburg, Leverkusen, and Gladbach. Considering the limited playing time his new protégé had at FC Southampton, Merlin Polzin emphasized on Thursday: “He won’t play three full 90-minute matches in an English week.”

Nevertheless, Downs will have to deliver immediately at HSV. There is a personnel shortage in attack. Robert Glatzel and Yussuf Poulsen are still out, and Rayan Philippe and Fabio Balde are also missing due to illness. But can the 21-year-old, who experienced a nightmare first half of the season in England, step up right away?

Johannes Spors is convinced of it. The Technical Director of Southampton knows the striker very well and firmly believes in his breakthrough in Hamburg. “Yes, I am sure that it will work out with HSV and Damion,” Spors explained in a Mopo interview. Downs “fits well with HSV’s style of play thanks to his speed and assertiveness.”

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Spors confident: “He’ll be able to handle the pressure at HSV”

For Spors, there is no doubt that Downs will cope with the special atmosphere at Volkspark. Here, his past comes into play. “The pressure in Hamburg is certainly high, not least because of the media attention and the enormous interest in the club. But Damion already knows all of that from his time in Cologne,” the 43-year-old explains. He continues: “If you can make it at FC, that’s a very good foundation for succeeding in Hamburg as well.” That’s why Spors is sure: “He will definitely be able to handle the pressure at HSV. It won’t bother him.”

Spors can understand the critical voices from the fan scene who point to Downs’ goalless spell in Southampton. “Sometimes it’s just small things. That could have been the case with Damion,” he says. Two missed big chances at the start of the season, strong competition, and a coaching change all left their mark.

However, Spors has no doubts about Downs’ fundamental qualities. “He still has all the attributes a good striker needs,” he emphasizes. The fact that other Bundesliga clubs, in addition to HSV, were interested in the striker underlines this.

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