Polzin hails HSV new boy despite just six touches | OneFootball

Terem Moffi made his competitive debut for HSV, wearing the diamond on his chest, in the 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.

And although the new striker’s stats were modest, he still left a lasting impression on coach Merlin Polzin.

The Nigerian had only arrived at the Volkspark at the beginning of last week, joining from OGC Nice for around two million euros. After just a few training sessions with his new teammates, Moffi was already included in the squad for the Bundesliga opener and was brought on in the 67th minute for Patson Daka.

That meant the 27-year-old had little time to make his mark. His personal tally showed one shot, six touches, and one duel won. For Polzin, however, those numbers were not the benchmark for evaluating his performance.

Photo: IMAGO

Polzin pleased with Moffi’s HSV debut

Instead, the HSV coach was impressed after the match by the attributes of his new signing. “Terem showed exactly the things we expect from him, and in some cases already delivered them,” Polzin explained. The striker’s physical presence and movement had already made it clear why the club had pushed to sign him.

“He’s someone who attracts the ball up front, someone who can hold his own,” Polzin said, describing the striker’s qualities. On top of that, Moffi offers “extreme penetration in behind” and is “equipped with a great deal of pace.”

But it is also true that before his move to Hamburg, Moffi had recently only been training with the reserve team in Nice and had therefore missed large parts of pre-season. Accordingly, those in charge want to build the striker up carefully.

Even so, Polzin already saw positive signs in his brief appearance in Dortmund. Moffi had “an immediate impact on the game,” the coach emphasized. That is precisely why the new arrival is set to gradually receive more playing time in the coming weeks.

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