No second Königsdörffer: Baldé completes medical, leaves HSV | OneFootball

Fabio Baldé’s move to Racing Strasbourg is complete. On Thursday, the HSV academy product successfully passed his medical with the French top-flight club. The transfer was then made official on Friday morning.

According to consistent media reports, Hamburg will receive around seven million euros for the 21-year-old, including possible bonus payments.

The fact that Baldé passed the medical without any issues will have particularly pleased those in charge at the Volkspark. After all, the winger had repeatedly been slowed down by minor injuries and physical complaints in recent months. He also missed a large part of the summer pre-season due to knee irritation.

At least briefly, this likely brought back memories at HSV of the failed transfer of Ransford Königsdörffer. The current Mainz player was on the verge of a move to OGC Nice last summer, but failed the medical there, causing the deal to collapse. HSV has now been spared a similar scenario in Baldé’s case.

Photo: IMAGO

HSV officials pay tribute to Baldé

Despite his great potential, the Wilhelmsburg native never managed to establish himself permanently with the first team. In the past Bundesliga season, he recorded 440 minutes of playing time, one goal, and one assist. “Fabio came to us with the wish to leave his familiar surroundings in order to take the next sporting step,” sporting director Claus Costa explained.

He continued: “As a top talent from our own youth academy who has made the jump into professional football, we did not want to deny him this opportunity—under certain conditions. Fabio came to see me personally once again and thanked me for the release, but also for the many years we spent together. That speaks volumes about him and was quite an emotional moment for both of us.”

Board member for sport Kathleen Krüger also praised the path Baldé has taken in recent years. “Fabio’s journey from our youth academy into international football is a great story for everyone involved and, looking ahead to the coming years, it can hopefully be just the beginning,” said Krüger. “As I already emphasized at my introductory press conference, our work in the academy is essential for us. We have to continuously develop our young players in order to see homegrown talents playing at the Volkspark, strengthening the club’s identity, or, in departures like Fabio’s now, generating significant transfer fees.”

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