sports relegated
Hertha publicly cold their top earners
Status: 14.07.2023 | Reading time: 4 minutes
July 5, Berlin: a team photo to forget. Hertha’s team is likely to change fundamentally in the coming weeks
Source: Getty Images/Matthias Kern
Hertha BSC goes to the training camp and leaves the most prominent and expensive players at home. One is about to be transferred, and buyers are urgently needed for five more. They once cost 84 million euros. Now they just have to go.
Hertha BSC is traveling to the training camp in Zell am See without its star players. 23 field players and four goalkeepers are in Austria for the period from July 12th to 21st, including numerous young talents. On the other hand, Jessic Ngankam (22) is missing. Eintracht Frankfurt is the buyer of the U-21 international.
Both clubs are working to finalize the transfer in the coming days. Until then, the attacker should train in training group II in Berlin. Tolga Cigerci (31), who only came in winter, had already packed his things on Tuesday evening and is moving back to MKE Ankaragücü.
The sales candidates Dodi Lukebakio (25), Lucas Tousart (26), Suat Serdar (26) and Krzysztof Piatek (28) as well as goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow (31) were also not allowed to climb on board. For cost reasons, Hertha wants to part with the star players who can train under professional conditions in Berlin. Training with the U23 is not planned.
The financially troubled club has a big problem: all of these five players were brought in when Hertha squandered the millions from ex-investor Lars Windhorst. They were correspondingly expensive to purchase, namely a total of 84 million euros. And the numbers in their current contracts are correspondingly plentiful. If they earned a lot in the Bundesliga, they earn far too much in the second division. Hertha can no longer afford it.
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The quintet is breaking the salary budget, which has shrunk by 40 percent. The club, which calculates with a budget of 30 million euros, has to sell the players. But this is exactly what interested clubs know. Accordingly, they try to take advantage of the hardship of Berliners, push prices down and play for time.
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Hertha, on the other hand, would like to keep the loss as low as possible, but is in a much worse negotiating position, especially since there are still many weeks between the start of the two divisions on July 29 at Fortuna Düsseldorf and the closing of the transfer window on August 31. In addition, only first division clubs should be able to pay the players.
This is Hertha’s expensive display
Krzysztof Piatek: The attacker should fill the big gap in the storm in January 2020. Hertha transferred 24 million euros to AC Milan. Piatek is thus the second most expensive access in the club’s history. With an estimated three million euros base salary, he is also considered a top earner. But the Pole never lived up to the early praise. In 58 competitive games for the capital club, he only scored 13 goals. In the past two seasons he has played on loan for Italian top division clubs AS Salernitana and AC Fiorentina. His contract runs until 2025. According to transfermarkt.de, his market value has now fallen to seven million euros.
Lucas Tousart: Tousart is the most expensive transfer in club history. In January 2020 he came from Olympique Lyon for 25 million euros and is said to earn an impressive two million euros a year. The central midfielder was one of the more consistent Hertha players in the relegation season and set a personal best with five goals this season. In terms of sport, the departure of the top performer hurts. From a financial point of view, however, the club has no other choice. SSC Napoli are said to be interested in the Frenchman. But even the reigning Italian champions will – if at all – pay a transfer fee around the current market value of nine million euros. Suat Serdar: The former German national player came in summer 2021 for eight million euros from the then relegated Schalke 04. After a mixed first season, it was hoped that coach Sandro Schwarz (44) would bring the central midfielder into top form. The two already worked together at FSV Mainz 05. However, Serdar was particularly disappointing in the end of the season. He has only started two of the last nine games. In order to save his salary, according to BILD 1.8 million euros, the club absolutely wants to get rid of him. Fenerbahce Istanbul and city rivals Besiktas Istanbul are said to be interested. Dodi Lukebakio: Even with his eleven goals this season, Lukebakio could not prevent Bundesliga relegation. The Belgium international is likely to bring the club the largest transfer fee of any player looking to leave the club. His current market value is twelve million euros. However, he does not get back the 20 million that the club transferred to Watford FC for him in 2019. Several clubs from Serie A, including Lazio Roma, Inter Milan and AC Fiorentina, are said to be flirting with a commitment.
Alexander Schwolow: In 2020, Hertha Schwolow became the new number one for seven million euros. Although Schwolow was a regular goalkeeper for two seasons, he was never able to build on his performances in Freiburg. The Wiesbaden native also fell through on his loan to Schalke last season. Under Thomas Reis, he lost his regular place and only slipped back into the goal at the end of the season after Ralf Fährmann was injured. Schalke dismounted. Now Schwolow is back in Berlin. He has no future there.