Hamburg drop pursuit of Southampton's Armel Bella-Kotchap
Bella-Kotchap's stated desire to return to the Bundesliga may yet yield something. Borussia Mönchengladbach were also rumored to be interested in the twice-capped German international. A move to Hamburg would have nevertheless made much more sense for Bella-Kotchap.
The 23-year-old could have received the chance to accrue regular playing time in Merlin Polzin's squad, not to mention potentially form an intriguing central defensive partnership with another German centre-back returning from a long stint abroad, Jordan Torunarigha.
The Morgenpost article notes that Hamburg shall intensify their search for another central defender over the weekend, ideally having a new introduction to present early next week. Interestingly enough, HSV have also been linked with Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Luka Vuskovic.
Luka's elder brother Mario represented Hamburg in the 2. Bundesliga prior to becoming embroiled in his famous doping incident. A loan deal for the 18-year-old Luka, per the paper, has been officially ruled out.
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