Surprise return: Öztunali back in action for HSV | OneFootball

Levin Öztunali has no future at HSV. However, contrary to an original premise, he was on the field for the second team at the start of the season.

The U21 team of Hamburger SV started the new season of the Regionalliga Nord with a goalless draw. Against the second team of Hannover 96, where Tom Sanne played on loan last season, they managed a 0-0 draw in the end. But the real topic of conversation was a name that had not been seen in a Rothosen jersey on the football field for a long time: Levin Öztunali.

The 29-year-old, grandson of HSV legend Uwe Seeler and brought in from the Bundesliga in 2023 with high expectations, was surprisingly substituted in in the 77th minute. It was his first competitive game appearance in eight months, after he was officially removed from the professional squad by Merlin Polzin. Since the end of 2024, Öztunali has been training with the U21 team, but was not intended to participate in the game operations until now. The reason: the concern that he could take playing time away from young talents.

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HSV is at a standstill with Öztunali

All the more surprising was his deployment against Hannover. The offensive player showed a few decent scenes after his substitution, but like the entire team, he remained without a goal. The point sharing was lucky for the HSV youth team in the end, as the guests had the better chances.

Meanwhile, the contract poker is still raging behind the scenes: Öztunali is still under contract until summer 2026 and receives a relatively generous salary. HSV therefore wants to dissolve the employment contract prematurely and is aiming for a severance payment, but significantly below the total amount due until 2026. This would make the midfielder free to transfer and he could choose his new employer freely.

Öztunali, on the other hand, according to Bild information, does not want to waive a single euro of his contract, which is why there is currently no movement in the talks between the player and the club. All the more surprising was it now that the former German U21 national player was on the field for the U21 team again.

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