Bundesliga January 2026 Transfer Primers | Hamburger SV | OneFootball

The next of our 18 Bundesliga transfer primers to be published here on Get German Football News brings us to Hamburger SV. These Hanseaten are part of a three club deadlock in the current Bundesliga table that also includes fellow promoted side 1. FC Köln and their fierce Rhein rivals VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach. No German footballing enthusiast can help but be grateful that this club is back in the Bundesliga and doing well.

The spectacular choreos and light shows at the Volksparkstadion simply belong on the front page of the top flight. How on earth did all of us live without this for seven long years? Perhaps it was all for the best as HSV return to the Bundesliga a very different club than the one bade farewell to all those years back. The organization formerly known as “der Dino” no longer carries with it the haughtiness of a club that never experienced relegation.

Neutrals suddenly root for HSV to punch above their weight and supply us with inspiring tales of underdogs, misfits, and redemption arcs. This stands in stark contrast to the club’s last few years in the top flight preceding the relegation. Virtually all Germans wanted HSV to stop teetering on the edge and simply go down. The “new look” Rothosen engineered by German footballing legend Stefan Kuntz constitutes a lovely breath of fresh air.

Hamburger SV

Kuntz did a marvelous job helping Hamburg exceed expectations.

Winter Predictions Check, Hamburger SV

Predicted Table Position – 17th place

Actual Table Position – 13th place, 16 points

(4-W, 4-D, 7-L)

(-9 G-Diff)

The pre-season HSV section came before Kuntz oversaw a blockbuster end to the summer transfer window. The late addition of Arsenal duo Albert Sambi Lokonga and Fabio Vieira obviously shifted the calculus massively. The mere inclusion of those two names on the roster actually increased the estimated market worth of Hamburg’s squad by nearly €30m. Literally overnight, HSV jumped from the second least valuable team in the Bundesliga to the 4th least.

The upward trajectory continues thanks to the fact that Tottenham loanee Luka Vuskovic recently received another upgrade in the Transfermarkt listings. The German footballing mega-site now considers Vuskovic a mega-talent worth €40m. On the pitch, Vuskovic himself became the first HSV goal-scorer after the long top division drought. Vieira and newly appointed skipper Yussuf Poulsen recently led the team to dramatic late home wins over Stuttgart and Bremen.

All four of Hamburg’s Bundesliga wins (Stuttgart, Bremen, Mainz, and Heidenheim) came at home and gave us something to talk about. The expected defeats barely stick in one’s memory. Times when HSV failed to look like a German top flight side at all certainly existed. In principle, a total collapse could potentially occur. Perhaps Germans simply prefer to walk a blind, “Egmont-like” walk when it comes to this team.

Don’t go slowing us down with the facts!

Autumn Transfer Assessment, Hamburger SV

Estimated Summer Transfer Balance = -€2.7m

Vuskovic, Lokonga, and Vieira all count as “gold star transfers”. The author admittedly places some “blinders” on when it comes to Vieira’s disciplinary record. We’ll label the Portuguese attacking midfielder a passionate footballer and be done with it. One can also apply some select “blinders” when it comes to Rayan Philippe’s occasionally arrogant demeanor. The French striker’s contributions to this team earn him a pass. Vuskovic has scored two Bundesliga goals whilst Lokonga, Vieira, and Philippe have all amassed four league scorer-points. Downright awesome stuff from this quartet.

The famed “Rocky-Rambo” midfield axis of summer additions Nicolai Remberg and Nicolas Capaldo proved nothing more than shallow hype. Both actors nevertheless ended up serving as stable components in Polzin’s XI in another way. Remberg’s work in midfield has been top-notch. Capaldo also performed exceedingly well since being moved into the back-three. Giorgi Gocholeishvili’s recent form dip leaves him “job sharing” with William Mikelbrencis, but one generally likes what the newly-acquired Georgian has brought to the team as a right wingback.

For those keeping track, that’s seven new players brought in by Kuntz and sporting director Claus Costa that have either worked out excellently or well above average. Flops? Comoros international Warmed Omari actually did fairly well until a ligament tear forced him off the pitch after match-day five. The fact that Omari’s injury paved the way for Capaldo to find a new role even renders him a success in a morbid and unintentional way. Sadly, no German – much as we wish to – can defend the play of our beloved Jordan Torunarigha.

Torunarigha simply hasn’t been good. The Chemnitz-native qualifies as a total flop. Bayern keeper Daniel Peretz has done little besides serve as an unpleasant and unneeded distraction. Rating the whole Yussuf Poulsen situation remains largely impossible. Trainer Merlin Polzin’s surprise choice to serve as the squad’s new skipper keeps getting hurt. A fresh injury looks to sideline the Danish striker for another month or more after the re-start. Poulsen has scored a crucial match-winnerand provides plenty of intangibles as a benevolent leading personality in the locker room.

One still finds it exceptionally cruel that Sebastian Schonlau had to be unceremoniously demoted to make way for Poulsen. A figure like Davie Selke engenders less sympathy, but this squad could have still used him in their inaugural top flight season. One can fairly conclude that Kuntz, Costa, and Polzin mismanaged the personnel situation when it came to the attack, right down to their failure to offload Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer near the end of the window. The whole team needs to do better in this area during the coming window.

Dead Weight Ledger and Expiring Contracts, Hamburger SV

Recently promoted clubs invariably possess large dead-weight ledgers. The process of shedding lower level talent justifiably takes time. Some players merit a look in the new division as well. In the case of HSV, 2. Bundesliga regulars such as Mikelbrencis, Daniel Elfadli, Miro Muheim, Fabio Baldé, Jen-Luc Dompé, and even (very recently) Bakery Jatta made the most of their auditions. All of them could have been in line for January cuts, but proved themselves worthy over the course of the current campaign. 

Matters are different for the likes of Noah Katterbach, Silvan Hefti, Emir Sahiti, and Immanuel Pherai; all of whom may be on the month in January if the right buyer can be found. Königsdörffer, Guilherme Ramos, and Jonas Meffert all sit on expiring contracts and will definitely be moved as soon as any offer comes in. Rumors abound that Holstein Kiel have already sealed a deal for midfielder Meffert. Penty of 2. Bundesliga outfits ostensibly maintain some interest in the other two. 

The HSV administrative team likely hopes to park two of the younger prospects (defender Aboubaka Soumahoro and attacker Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit. The latter just signed a new contract; something that’s often a harbinger of a loan deal being in the works. Both Soumahoro and Røssing-Lelesiit showcased their potential in Bundesliga appearances this season, yet require some other locale to refine their game. HSV presumably prepare to do business with several 2. Bundesliga clubs. 

Dead-Weight Ledger = Daniel Peretz (GK), Noah Katterbach (LB), Aboubaka Soumahoro (CB), Silvan Hefti (RB), Emir Sahiti (CM), Immanuel Pherai (ATTM) 

Expiring contracts =  Guilherme Ramos (CB), Jonas Meffert (CM), Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (CF)

Further Needs and Rumored Links, Hamburger SV

The Damion Downs rumors appear to have some serious heft to them. Not much else amounts to more than idle speculation. Hamburg do appear to be one of the Bundesliga clubs in the running for surprise Hoffenheim reserve squad star Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab. The 21-year-old, along with soon-to-be-confirmed Eintracht Frankfurt signing Younes Ebnoutalib, seek to take their surging form to the German top flight. We’ll definitely be hearing more about these two “late bloomers” over the course of the next month one way or another. 

Further Needs = LB, ADM, CM, LW, CF

Rumored Links = Raoul Petretta (LB), Arne Maier (CM), Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab (RW), Damion Downs (CF), Danylo Sikan (CF), Sidiki Cherif (CF)

GGFN | Peter Weis