Is it starting again already? HSV loanee with no chance at new club | OneFootball

For Aboubaka Soumahoro, the new season could well become the most important of his still-young career. The center-back, whom HSV signed from France in the summer of 2024 for around two million euros, is in urgent need of playing time.

That is precisely why the Hamburg club’s decision-makers opted for another loan move this summer. But the first few weeks at RCD Mallorca are cause for concern. This time, things were actually supposed to be different. After Soumahoro was loaned to AS Saint-Étienne in the second half of last season and failed to play a single competitive minute there, HSV looked for a new solution. The choice fell on the Spanish second-division side, which is aiming for immediate promotion back to La Liga after relegation.

But after the first two matchdays, a similar picture to the one in France is emerging. Soumahoro was included in the squad, but did not play a single second. The season is still young, but HSV will no doubt be monitoring the situation closely. After all, the loan was explicitly arranged with the aim of giving the 21-year-old regular game time.

At HSV, Soumahoro is only the third-choice defender

The competition in Mallorca is enormous, however. At the heart of the defense, there is hardly any way past captain Antonio Raillo. Alongside him, Martin Valjent has been a regular for years and is also the club’s vice-captain. That leaves Soumahoro with only the spots behind them for now. There, he is competing with David López, among others, for the role of first backup.

Photo: IMAGO

Shifting to the left side of defense is also proving difficult. With Alberto Moreno and Toni Lato, Mallorca have experienced and established options there as well.

Accordingly, the question is already being raised early on as to whether HSV once again chose a club where the chances of regular playing time are lower than hoped. Sporting director Claus Costa emphasized when announcing the loan that Mallorca offered better prospects for playing minutes than Hamburg. After two matchdays, however, there is still no sign of that. In any case, memories of the loan fiasco at Saint-Étienne are coming back.

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