Wintzheimer and Özcan leave HSV on loan

Hamburger SV ended their transfer dealings on deadline day, with two young players leaving the club in search of more playing time. Midfielder Berkay Özcan as well as striker Manuel Wintzheimer have both joined new clubs on loan until the end of the season, with Özcan back in his native Turkey and Wintzheimer signing for league rivals VfL Bochum. 

The captain of the Turkish under-21 national side, who signed from VfB Stuttgart in January and whose contract runs until the 30th June 2023, has signed for Istanbul Basaksehir FK, who currently sit in 14th position in the Süper Lig table, and have the likes of Demba Ba, Eljero Elia and Robinho in their ranks. Wintzheimer, having moved from Bayern Munich to HSV last summer, signs for the Ruhr valley club until the end of the season, having only made one appearance for the Rothosen so far, winning the decisive penalty against Darmstadt 98 on the first day of the season. 

“Manu finds himself at an age where he needs to play a lot, he will only improve by playing football regularly and that was something we couldn’t guarantee him. If he develops himself at Bochum and is able to make around 20 appearances then we will be getting a better player back next summer,” was Dieter Hecking’s analysis of Wintzheimer’s departure. “Just like Manu, Berkay needs as much game time as possible for his development. In central midfield he was a way down the pecking order, partly because the starters are performing so well at the moment.”