Bundesliga soccer club Hamburger SV is loaning US national striker Damion Downs until the end of the season and has thus prevailed against northern rivals Werder Bremen. The 21-year-old attacker comes from Southampton FC to 13th place in the table. Above all, he is supposed to fill the offensive gap caused by the absence of the injured captain Yussuf Poulsen.
“With Damion, we closed a vacant position in the squad early in this transfer window. He knows the Bundesliga and brings an interesting mix of quality and development potential,” said sporting director Claus Costa in a statement on the club website.
Just before this season, Downs moved from second division promoted 1. FC Köln to Premier League relegated Southampton for an estimated ten million euros. In order to improve his chances of participating in the World Cup with the US team, the player, who was born in the Lower Franconian district of Schweinfurt, is moving back to Germany this winter. “I had good conversations with those responsible for the sport, in which I developed a good feeling for the task,” said the German-American.
Downs have so far remained without a goal in eleven games in the English second division. Nevertheless, in addition to HSV, SV Werder also wanted to sign the 1.92 meter tall attacker. For 1. FC Köln he scored 13 goals in 42 competitive games.
Peretz released for the time being
Meanwhile, Hamburger SV has released its Bayern loanee Daniel Peretz “for discussions regarding his future”. This was announced by the Bundesliga soccer team from the Hanseatic city. The replacement goalkeeper from Israel has been linked to the English second division club FC Southampton.
Peretz came to Hamburg in the summer. A year earlier, he moved to Munich from Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv and signed a five-year contract. The loan deal with HSV, which was actually planned until the end of the season, did not develop as hoped for the 25-year-old. Peretz couldn’t get past Daniel Heuer Fernandes and remained unused in the Bundesliga. In Southampton, the ten-time international would meet German coach Tonda Eckert.
