Official: HSV beat Werder to the punch and solve their striker issue! | OneFootball

Now it's official: HSV has secured the signing of Damion Downs, marking their first winter acquisition.

The 21-year-old striker is moving from FC Southampton to HSV and will be on loan until the end of the season. Additionally, the Hamburg team secured a purchase option for the summer, which according to Bild information, is around ten million euros. Sky also reports a sum between nine and ten million, which could increase to up to twelve million euros with additional bonus payments.

Despite goalless and ultimately disappointing months in England, interest in Downs was high. Several Bundesliga clubs, including northern rival Werder Bremen, as well as foreign clubs, were vying for him. The decisive factor for the move to Hamburg was the convincing talks with sports director Claus Costa and the coaching team led by Merlin Polzin.

New HSV striker is here!

On Tuesday, Downs passed the medical check at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, although direct participation in team training came too soon. However, on Wednesday, the American was on the field at Volkspark for the first time.

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"With Damion, we have filled an open spot in the squad early in this transfer window. He knows the Bundesliga and brings an interesting mix of quality and development potential," says sports director Claus Costa, elaborating on the player profile of the 1.92-meter-tall forward: "Damion is a vertical center forward who has a good mix of size, speed, and depth. With his strengths in transition play and his presence in the box, he fits very well into the profile we developed in close coordination with the coaching team."

The new addition also spoke. "I am extremely happy to be at HSV and to embark on this journey with the club. I had good talks with the sporting directors, in which I developed a good feeling for the task. Now I can hardly wait to bring my strengths to the field and play at the highest level in Germany in the Bundesliga again," explains the German-American, who will wear the number 19 jersey at HSV.

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