Pherai makes his comeback: What HSV coach Polzin is demanding | OneFootball

Immanuel Pherai was repeatedly sidelined by injuries. In Leipzig, he made his first appearance of the current season for HSV’s first team.

A little under a quarter of an hour before the end of regular time, Immanuel Pherai replaced Albert Sambi Lokonga, whose fitness is steadily improving but still not enough for 90 minutes. The substitution almost paid off. The fresh right-footer got involved right away but couldn’t turn HSV’s spell of pressure into something tangible. “I’m happy for Manu that he confirmed his performances from the past weeks,” coach Merlin Polzin still praised after the match (via Abendblatt).

Pherai had recently played several times for HSV’s U21s in the Regionalliga Nord and particularly shone in his latest outing, when he contributed five goal involvements to a 6–2 win over Werder Bremen’s reserves. Now the Amsterdam-born player, whose last 2. Bundesliga season was unsatisfactory from a personal standpoint, has returned to the first team: “I basically felt injured since January this year and I’m happy to be healthy again. Now I can finally get started.”

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Pherai needs to be more consistent

Polzin, who has repeatedly spoken very favorably about Pherai in public, again emphasized that he wants to rely on the playmaker’s abilities: “Manu is a player with great potential because he plays with a lot of intensity and makes many good runs for the team that aren’t always immediately obvious, but will definitely help our game.”

With Pherai, however, there has often been a lack of consistency in his performances, which is why the coach stressed: “It’s up to him what he makes of this potential. For that, he has to work hard on himself every day and bring his strengths to the table. I expect him to get back to it tomorrow to earn his next appearance.” For the upcoming home game against Wolfsburg, Polzin once again has the luxury of choice. Lokonga and Nicolai Remberg impressed in the two central positions. In addition, Fábio Vieira returns from his red-card suspension.

Photo: IMAGO

“At the moment there are only two spots. Every player in this position is different. That’s why we’re lucky with the squad depth. Let’s see what the coach does,” said Pherai. Polzin was certainly happy to be able to call on him again: “I’m very glad that Manu is now back in a condition to be able to play in the Bundesliga. We shouldn’t forget: We all come from the second division, were away for years, and we’re enjoying moments like today when we can keep up.” In recent weeks, his team has become increasingly adept at meeting the new challenge and should serve as a point of reference for Pherai.

Photo: IMAGO

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