By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Bundesliga side Hamburger SV has paid a club record fee on
Monday afternoon to sign the Serbian winger Filip Kostic. Kostic arrives from
VfB Stuttgart for £11.25m, with the job of unlocking more midfield potential in
a club that has lost its identity in recent seasons.
It is a fillip for the club, who have been linked with a
number of players in this transfer window, but have seen their power in German
football overtaken in recent years by more modest clubs like VfL Wolfsburg and
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Both these teams have a smaller fanbase but seem to be
able to acquire better players.
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| Filip Kostic puts pen to paper on his move to Hamburger SV |
Can Kostic (pictured) take Hamburg back towards the top heavyweights of
the Bundesliga?
A safe
move
Kostic has played his football in Germany for the past two
seasons and has only missed nine Bundesliga games in that time with VfB
Stuttgart. He had scored eight goals in 59 appearances for Stuttgart; an
average of a goal every seven games.
He was a consistent performer last term but it couldn’t stop
Stuttgart’s plunge out of the top-flight of German football for the first time
since the 1976/1977 season. It was clear Die Roten didn’t want to allow one of
their assets to leave, considering they’d already lost the likes of Martin
Harnik, Daniel Schwaab and Daniel Didavi on free transfers.
Several clubs were interested in signing Kostic. Bayer 04
Leverkusen and FC Schalke 04 were put off by the high asking price, whilst
there were also tentative enquiries from Valencia and Everton. It seemed like
he was heading for Wolfsburg last week before the plug was pulled on the deal
at the last moment.
So why has he chosen Hamburg?
It looks like a safe move. Had he gone to a higher-profile
club, Kostic could have been struggling for first-team football on a regular
basis. He also might have lost his way among a galaxy of other talent.
By choosing a move to Die Rothosen, he guarantees regular
action barring injury and will be one of the club’s shining lights. Nevertheless,
Hamburg have paid huge money to bring Kostic to the Volksparkstadion. Whilst he
must be given some time to settle, he knows the grounds, the league and the
opposition. He has to deliver fairly quickly on a sizeable fee his new
employers have paid for him.
Frustrating
summer
Upto this signing, it has been a frustrating summer for
Hamburger SV fans. American forward Bobby Wood was brought in from 2. Bundesliga
outfit 1. FC Union Berlin shortly after last season ended. The only other main
arrival was SV Darmstadt 98 shot-stopper Christian Mathenia.
Hamburg were one of the most threatening clubs to FC Bayern München
for many years. They won the European Cup back in 1983, have won the main title
in Germany six times and the DFB-Pokal three times. However, their last major
honour was the latter competition back in 1987.
They’ve only narrowly escaped relegation via the dreaded
play-off route in two of the past three campaigns, preserving their status as
the only team to have figured in every single Bundesliga campaign. Therefore, a
10th-place finish last season has to be seen as a modest
improvement.
Does a brighter future beckon for this club? The arrival of
Kostic, coupled with the signature of Alen Haliovic from Barcelona in recent days
suggests a breakthrough in the transfer window. The reality is they still have
some way to go to at least get back into the fight for European qualification
on a regular basis.
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