“It’s our idea”: talent hype at HSV hits its peak! | OneFootball

This summer, HSV is showing a development that hasn’t been seen in this form for a long time: the club’s own talents are pushing their way into the first-team squad with full force.

In the last pre-season friendly against FC Toulouse (2:1), no fewer than four homegrown players started: Louis Lemke, Otto Stange, Shafiq Nandja, and Jason Bissi-Mouelle. Stange in particular caught the eye. The 19-year-old gave HSV the lead after just four minutes with a superb long-range strike from around 20 meters. His three defensive teammates also impressed for large stretches against the French top-flight side. Nandja, like Lemke, was allowed to play the full match.

Coach Merlin Polzin is watching the development of his young players with great pleasure. “The boys who are involved right now are doing really well,” the HSV coach is quoted as saying by Bild. Lemke in particular, he said, has “earned” his playing time. The 16-year-old is already a real help to the team. According to Polzin, there is also a clear plan behind it: “It’s our idea that we want to promote players from our own academy when they show the required performance.”

Photo: IMAGO

HSV captain Remberg surprised by the talents

This philosophy is also being well received within the squad. Captain Nicolai Remberg has been supporting Lemke in particular with extra sessions since the start of pre-season. “I didn’t expect them to do so well,” the 26-year-old admitted openly after the Toulouse match, while praising the youngsters’ commitment.

But the full picture also includes this: for Nandja and Bissi-Mouelle, things will likely become more difficult again for the time being after the return of Nicolás Capaldo and Warmed Omari, as well as the signing of Sebastiaan Bornauw. The situation looks very different for Lemke: the 16-year-old is one of the summer’s biggest winners and has a good chance of starting in the DFB-Pokal against SC Verl (24 August) as well. That is because positional rival Miro Muheim has been dealing with adductor problems in recent days. Especially with an eye on the Bundesliga opener away at Borussia Dortmund (29 August), HSV is unlikely to take much risk and could send Lemke into the fray without major concerns if necessary.

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