Starting spot and licence gone: Dompé on the way out at HSV? | OneFootball

Just a few months ago, Jean-Luc Dompé was considered an absolutely indispensable game-changer within HSV’s ranks.

Without his nine goals and 14 assists, the Rothosen would likely never have won promotion to the Bundesliga last season. But today, hardly anything remains of that level of productivity. The Frenchman (three goals, zero assists) now mostly finds himself on the bench. He has started only one of the last ten matches.

The main trigger for this dramatic decline was an incident off the pitch. At the end of January, Dompé was caught driving with a blood alcohol level of 1.34 and even continued his journey on an e-scooter. The consequences, including suspension and the loss of his driver’s license, followed immediately. Since then, Dompé has also lost his long-assumed regular starting spot. He was given another chance from the start in the 2-1 win in Wolfsburg and scored from the penalty spot, but that was not enough to convince in the long term.

Coach Merlin Polzin is trying to frame the situation diplomatically. “I’m happy to have his qualities at my disposal,” he emphasized recently. At the same time, however, he made it clear that “other player profiles were needed” lately. In other words: Dompé is simply no longer the first choice at the moment!

Photo: IMAGO

Dompé now only second choice at HSV

The beneficiary of this development is Philip Otele. The attacking player, who was loaned from Basel in the winter, has moved ahead of Dompé and brings qualities that currently suit HSV better. The Nigerian is a more direct player and stronger in transition, while also working much harder defensively. Polzin recently made initial hints that the newly promoted side could trigger the €5 million purchase option in the summer.

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If that actually happens, Dompé’s time at the Volkspark could be heading for a swift end. On top of that, at 30, the left winger is already at a more advanced footballing age and is under contract only until 2027. As reported by the Hamburger Abendblatt, those in charge want to hold talks with the former fan favorite soon. Even an early departure is no longer off the table.

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