Winter transfer window botched? HSV chief says no! | OneFootball

Few Bundesliga clubs were as active in the winter transfer market as HSV. No fewer than five new signings arrived at the Volkspark.

The club paid its highest fee for Sander Tangvik. The Norwegian goalkeeper moved to Hamburg for a respectable €2.6 million and is expected to develop into the long-term successor to Daniel Heuer Fernandes. Since Tangvik has yet to play this season, it is naturally far too early to assess the transfer itself.

Things look a little different in the case of the other four newcomers. Damion Downs, Albert Grønbaek, Philip Otele (all loaned with an option to buy) and Otto Stange (who returned early from Elversberg) have at least combined for 1,259 minutes on the pitch.

So far, though, the return has been disappointing: although all of the players have their strengths in attack, only Otele has managed to get on the scoresheet. The Nigerian has recorded one goal and one assist. As things stand, he therefore appears to have the best chance of earning a permanent deal. HSV can buy Otele from FC Basel for €5 million. Homegrown talent Otto Stange is already a firm part of the club’s future plans anyway.

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But especially in the cases of Grønbaek and Downs, the interim verdict has been rather underwhelming — and for completely different reasons. Grønbaek was injured shortly after arriving in Hamburg. A lack of training, a thigh injury and an infection meant that the Danish attacking all-rounder has only been able to play three times for HSV and accordingly has had little chance to make a case for himself.

That does not apply to Downs. The Southampton loanee has already made ten appearances, six of them in the starting lineup. However, disappointing performances and heavy criticism from fans have meant that the 21-year-old is now playing hardly any role in the final stretch of the season. Under no circumstances will the Rothosen trigger the agreed €10 million purchase option.

HSV boss: “We would make every one of those transfers again”

So was the winter transfer window a failure because of the limited output from the new signings? “I see that differently,” said sporting director Claus Costa clearly in an Mopo interview. “In retrospect, we’re all national team coaches and already knew beforehand how things could have gone better afterward.”

He continued: “In winter, it felt like every club from 11th place downward was looking for the top striker who would score ten goals in the second half of the season. How many clubs found him? If I go back to the starting point of those decisions, one thing is clear to me: we would make every one of those transfers again.”

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Costa also has positive words for each of his signings. Despite the lack of goals, Downs brings qualities “that are important for us.” Grønbæk, meanwhile, has been “set back by his injury.” And Costa says of Otele: “He showed good signs right away. With him, we were able to compensate for Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit’s injury and the punishment for Jean-Luc Dompé’s misconduct.”

His final verdict: “I think we strengthened the squad in a targeted way and reacted to the market. In winter, that market is always a competition in itself.”

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