HSV spell over: youth world champion joins the 3. Liga! | OneFootball

Bilal Yalcinkaya is leaving HSV and will continue his career in the 3. Liga in the future. The 20-year-old attacking player will join SC Verl for the 2026/27 season.

The Rothosen made this official on Thursday afternoon. Yalcinkaya, who joined HSV’s youth setup in 2017, has since gone through all of the club’s junior teams. For years, he was regarded there as one of the most promising talents. He came particularly into focus at the end of 2023, when he won the world title with Germany’s U17 national team.

Yalcinkaya has also already gained his first experience around the HSV senior squad. However, his breakthrough has so far failed to materialize. Although he was at times part of the extended first-team group, he mostly featured for the U21 side in the Regionalliga Nord. In the 2024/25 season, he made 25 appearances there and was involved in no fewer than eleven goals.

Photo: IMAGO

HSV sporting director Costa confirms: Yalcinkaya was “close”

In the past season, his development was held back by a broken foot. Yalcinkaya was sidelined for several months and only returned to the pitch at the end of February. Looking back, HSV sporting director Claus Costa spoke of a young player who had “already been close” to “taking the next step toward professional football,” but had been set back by the injury. It had therefore already been clear for several weeks that he would not continue at the Volkspark.

The move to SC Verl, who after all finished sixth in the completed season, is now intended to open up new prospects for the youngster. Costa said the transfer offers Yalcinkaya the opportunity to “establish himself sustainably in professional football and gain valuable playing experience at a high level.”

Yalcinkaya himself says goodbye to the Hanseatic city with emotional words. HSV is “a very special club” for him and will “always have an important place” in his heart. In Verl, he now wants to “take the next steps,” continue to develop, and “reach the maximum.”

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