Four additions, four departures – that is the balance of Berlin Hertha in the completed winter transfer window. Managing director Fredi Bobic is satisfied with this and trusts the “clean squad”.
Hertha BSC signed four new players in the 2022 winter transfer window: Marc Oliver Kempf (27, VfB Stuttgart), Fredrik Björkan (23, Bodö/Glimt), Dong-Jun Lee (25, Ulsan Hyundai) and Kelian Nsona (19, SM Caen). In return, the capitals have given away four players in Krzysztof Piatek (AC Florence), Jordan Torunarigha (KAA Gent), Deyovaisio Zeefuik (Blackburn Rovers) and Dennis Jastrzembski (Slask Wroclaw). Fredi Bobic is satisfied with the transfer period that has just come to an end.
Good mix of new arrivals
“I am satisfied with it because we have done exactly what we set out to do,” said Hertha’s managing director of sport during a media round on Tuesday in view of the end of the winter transfer period, and explained: “We have made various transfers: with players who can help us directly, such as Marc-Oliver-Kempf and Fredrik Björkan. And with players who bring a certain imagination like Dong-Jun Lee. “
In addition, a talent like Nsona has already been successfully lured to Berlin as an “anticipation for the summer”, continued Bobic, who described the transfer market this year as “extremely manageable”. In times of Corona, the premise of the clubs had been to save personnel costs as much as possible and to “handle the money carefully”. This also applies to Hertha, but even apart from Corona, the Berliners wanted to avoid “overloading the squad” (Bobic) with further additions.
Hertha had originally also wanted to improve the positions of right-back and centre-forward. However, Bobic said that no player had been found for either position who was feasible for the Berliners: “It was not a question of acting in an actionist manner.” The 50-year-old confirmed that Hertha had looked at Danny Da Costa from Eintracht Frankfurt – and also striker Lucas Alario from Bayer Leverkusen. But both the Argentine and Da Costa were “not feasible”, Bobic added.
Bobic convinced of “clean squad “
Despite this, the Hertha management are convinced of the squad in its current composition. Bobic currently assumes that it will remain unchanged. Even if departures are still possible due to open transfer windows in countries such as Russia, Turkey or Austria. Of course, something can always happen, Bobic said on Tuesday, but “I don’t have the feeling that something like this should happen”. In any case, the sporting director believes Hertha are well-positioned for the 14 league games still to come with the personnel currently available. “We have a clean squad,” Bobic said.
In the future, Anton Kade will also be part of that squad. The 18-year-old junior striker, who was part of the 20-man squad for a Bundesliga match for the first time in the 0-0 draw at Wolfsburg just over a fortnight ago, will be a permanent member of the professional squad in future. “He has absolutely earned this. His development is very good,” Bobic said of Kade, whose brother Julius (22) plays for second-division side Dynamo Dresden and played one Bundesliga game for Hertha in the 2016/17 season.
