"Developed a good instinct" – Costa explains crucial last-minute transfers | OneFootball

Just before the transfer window closed, HSV significantly strengthened their squad once again. Sporting director Claus Costa played a decisive role in the arrival of Luka Vuskovic, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Fábio Vieira. He spoke in detail about how each deal came about.

He has been working in the Hanseatic city since 2019 and initially had to look around in much lower tiers in his role as chief scout and later as sporting director. This was because HSV could not find a way out of the 2. Bundesliga. Only on the seventh attempt did they manage to return to the top flight. For Claus Costa, the transfer phase began immediately after the promotion match against Ulm. “For the first time, we had clarity about being in the Bundesliga. We had suffered a lot from having to plan for two scenarios. Of course, we wanted to use this advantage for ourselves. That’s why there wasn’t really any time to take a longer break,” he reported in an interview with transfermarkt.de.

HSV made their first signings quite early. But given the weak results in pre-season and the derby defeat against FC St. Pauli, there were strong doubts as to whether a competitive squad was available. “We were always aware that it would take time when making such a big transition in the team. We had and still have conviction and confidence in the process,” Costa emphasized.

Costa comments on Vuskovic clause

The transfers of Luka Vuskovic, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Fábio Vieira significantly accelerated the process. They greatly increased the quality of the squad in key positions. “Of course, we are happy that we managed to pull off these three transfers. But they didn’t just fall from the sky; they weren’t lucky hits—there’s a lot of work behind them,” stressed the 41-year-old, who has a close relationship with sporting director Stefan Kuntz.

He was not worried that HSV might come away empty-handed during the often wild final days of the transfer window: “Experience and communication are key to being able to assess: What is realistic and what is a pipe dream? I think we’ve developed a good sense for that, even though we had to move up to a higher shelf in the Bundesliga.”

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The loan of Luka Vuskovic became a topic early on, but he spent the entire pre-season with Tottenham Hotspur. The release only came at the end of August. “We always had the clear intention to sign him—and he committed to us quite early. We didn’t want to take Luka away from Tottenham, but instead create a win-win-win situation. We help Tottenham, Luka helps us, and we all help him,” explained Costa, who was very impressed with the center-back’s performances so far.

When asked about a clause in the contract that would allow the loan to be terminated in the winter, Costa answered quite tellingly: “Tottenham is not interested in weakening us or breaking the loan. It’s understandable that they want to protect themselves against possible worst-case scenarios.” Previously, media reports stated that the clause would only apply if two of the North London club’s defenders were to be sidelined for a longer period.

HSV had Lokonga on their radar for a while

Just like Vuskovic, Albert Sambi Lokonga had been a topic at HSV for some time. “We had been in contact with Sambi for a long time, but with our budget in mind, our priority was first to sign another center-back and a creative player for the attack. We had to keep the overall structure in mind and in the end, we found a good solution with Arsenal,” Costa explained.

The Belgian is said to have cost only 300,000 euros in transfer fees. The sporting director did not want to comment on the figure. However, it’s unlikely that much money went to FC Arsenal: “The consideration was when this transfer could be made on terms we could afford. If the player no longer plays a significant role at his club, there may be a willingness at the end of the transfer window to make compromises and say: We agree that he leaves the club under certain conditions.”

Photo: Imago

That’s why Lokonga, like Fábio Vieira, only arrived on deadline day. The opportunity to loan the Portuguese playmaker, whose footballing abilities immediately stood out, only arose late: “A door opened that you couldn’t have gone through earlier. We had to act very quickly and very unbureaucratically. But we could rely on the fact that we knew the player very well from the past and basically just needed to refresh what had happened with him in the last one or two years.”

Vieira, like Lokonga and Vuskovic, proved to be an immediate help. The three late signings could possibly be decisive for Hamburg’s survival in the top flight. However, there are still 28 league games to play. Accordingly, Costa said: “I’m always very cautious with such assessments anyway, it’s far too early for me to make such judgments about any transfer.”

Photo: Getty Images

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