HSV: Boldt on player search, transfers, consultants & Kühne millions

Before sixth second division season

Jonas Boldt, who has been sporting director at Hamburger SV since 2019, relies on the motivation of players to follow the path with the club, which is now established in the 2nd division, when it comes to signing new and continuing players. “The players have to see promotion with HSV as a successful step in their own career. That’s why we’re bringing in different players today than we did a few years ago,” said the 41-year-old in an interview with the weekly newspaper “The time”.

“We don’t need anyone who says at the end of their career: I’m going back to Hamburg, a beautiful city, and play a bit of football there,” said Nuremberg-born Boldt, who had gained his first experience in various positions at Bayer 04 Leverkusen before he moved to Hamburg. In 2023/24 he made the sixth attempt to return to the Bundesliga with HSV. The biggest competitors in this project are probably the Bundesliga relegated FC Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC.

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Arminia Bielefeld’s free central defender Guilherme Ramos (25) is the first permanent new signing. In all likelihood, Eintracht Braunschweig’s top scorer Immanuel Pherai (22), whose exit clause the Hamburgers want to draw, will soon be added. The top performers Robert Glatzel (29) and Ludovit Reis (23), who could have left early due to a clause valid until June 15, could be kept, but decided to stay on the Elbe. Sonny Kittel (30), who has scored 76 goals in 140 competitive games in the past four years, announced his departure.

Boldt gave an insight into the process of transfers and revealed that the first contact is always through consultants. “Nevertheless, the personal conversation with the player is the most important thing for me. However, that will never go the way you know it from classic management,” said the sports director and explained: “You can’t lock yourself up with a player for three days and let him go through psychological profiles. Still, we’re taking advice on how to get things out of players who haven’t been classically trained. To hear how interested he really is. But in football you don’t have the time to get to know someone as well as you probably need to.”

It has also happened that he pulled the emergency brake shortly before an execution and did not sign a player. “It can be due to the feeling of not being 100 percent convinced. Contract negotiations can fail. Or the offer of the competition. I’ve already experienced that a player didn’t know exactly what to expect from him, what we expect from him. Suddenly he realized that he didn’t dare to play the intended position in our game system (under coach Tim Walter; ed.),” said Boldt. Young players would question a lot more today than they used to. “I sometimes doubt whether they will draw the right conclusions from this.” However, the idea of ​​performance is present in everyone.

HSV receives 30 million euros – according to Boldt, player consultants want to benefit

Most recently, HSV made a name for itself when it became known that investor and shareholder Klaus-Michael Kühne was providing the club with 30 million euros – a loan that was later converted into new shares in HSV Fußball AG via “convertible bonds”. can be. Part of the sum should serve to strengthen the squad, another will flow into improving the infrastructure and digitization, it said. Boldt made it clear: “Our players still earn a lot compared to the average in society, but within the football industry the salary structure is in the lower third for us.”

However, some players’ agents did not miss the fact that the “Red Pants” received fresh money. When asked whether consultants are now demanding more for their clients, Hamburg’s sports boss said: “Yes, that happens. But that’s in our hands: if we’re behind the wave, we’ll have to pay more. If we’re brave and get the player before he’s confirmed his performance multiple times, it costs us less. I personally like the free market economy.”

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