The summer will undoubtably bring a number of changes in terms of Hertha's squad. As has been discussed in previous posts, it has to. As early as May 8th and before the end of the 2013/14 season, the first of those changes hit the newsstands. I intend to keep this a flexible piece that I will update as and when news of what must be frantic activity at Hertha breaks surface. The last one that was officially announced was on Friday the 11th of June with the anouncement of the three year contract signed by Roy Beerens.
The first if these changes saw Hertha announce, on the May 8th the signing of the flexible midfielder Jens Hegeler from Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The 26-year-old, had a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2017and the new contract with the old lady mirrors that.
Hegeler suffered a tear in his ankle ligaments back in March during Leverkusen’s away match at Hanover 96. This prematurely brought this season to an end for Jens and he is currently in rehabilitation. However, the 1.93 m (6ft3”) midfielder should start the 52nd Bundesliga season fully fit.
On May 16th it came to light that it appears Valentin Stocker (25) will be joining Hertha. At this early stage, in mid May, Hertha are looking like the king of the transfer season this summer! According to a Swiss newspaper and widely reported now in the German press, including the Berlin locals, the top scorer from FC Basel, says he will be playing in the Olympiastadion in Berlin. It is also reported he has already had his medical in Berlin. He comes after a season where he scored 13 goals and created 8 assists for Basel..
The Berliner Morgenpost report that Valentine's services have been acquired on a four year contract for an estimated five million Euro fee. If correct this this the highest transfer fee in Berlin since Raphael back in 2008. The Swiss winger will join his countryman Fabian Lustenberger Who I understand he knew from childhood days in Lucerne as well as the Swiss national team. Hopefully his goal scoring talents will go some way to replacing those of Adrian Ramos next season. Änis Ben Hatira and Nico Schulz however, with this years inconsistent for, will feel some real pressure for their places next season.
On May the 20th Hertha announced the signing of the left-back Marvin Plattenhardt from 1 FC Nürnberg on a three-year contract until June 2017. The 22-year-old actually had a contract with Nürnberg until 2017 but, as a result of their decent into the 2. Bundesliga, he was released from that commitment for a reported fee of €500,000.
Marvin was born in Filderstadt, played a total of 61 Bundesliga games for 1.FC Nürnberg and he has also been through the German youth national teams. He is currently playing in the national U21 team.
For Hertha this is the third transfer within ten days and gives a useful injection of quality into the Hertha squad. Now the search is on for a striker!
May 24th - Genki Haraguchi (原口元気)
Well, perhaps the search for a striker has come up with something as it has been widely reported late on Saturday the 24th that Hertha intend to sign the Japanese striker Genki Haraguchi on a four year deal and it was officially announced on Sunday the 25th.
The 23-year-old is the second Japanse at the club following on from Hajime Hosogai who arrived two years ago. Genki is coming from the Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds where he played with Hajime Hosogai in the past. Hajime, who has already been in Germany since 2011, pretty well knows the ropes by now. When Genki does come to Berlin, Hajime will be a great help to him with settling in and adjusting to the German culture and language. Jos Luhukay has said he is prepared to be patient with the young Japanese and will give him time to adjust.
Genki plays mostly as a pacey "back up striker" but he can play on the left wing as well. He has scored 36 goals in 189 matches for Urawa and in 2013 he scored 13 times in 41 matches with 11 assists. These are useful figures but a much depends on how he makes the transition to playing in the Bundesliga over the coming seasons.
| Jos Luhukay has worked with Hajime for much of his time in Germany and so I have high hopes their combined experience will make the move a smooth and successful one for Genki. Here is a video that shows a little of what Ganki can do on the pitch . . | |
| After much speculation in the press (including the Bild, BZ, the Daily Mail and the Dutch paper "de Telegraaf" the ex Everton and Fulham defender John Heitinga (30) comes to Berlin on a free transfer. On Monday June 23rd Johnny Heitinga arrived in Berlin to have his medical and go on to sign for Hertha on a two year deal with an option to extend for a further year. | 
Image thanks to Johnny's twitter account!
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I think this should be a fantastic step forward for the Old lady and adds commanding presence to the back line. His 87 caps for the Dutch team and periods at a number of top clubs, including Ajax, Atletico Madrid and Everton give him vast experience that he brings to Hertha. He will have taken a big pay cut from the €2m he was earning in England but how could he not be tempted by a spell in the German capital?
Signing number six.
Following contined reports in the press of Hertha's interest in Julian Schieber (25) from Dortmund he joined the club, as predicted on Thursday the 3rd of Kuly after his medical. It was reported on the July 1st that the deal includes a fee of some €2M with "bonuses" that could bring BVB a total of €3M. This adds to the strike force and fills the space left b are you all important now you can't do it
| Signing number seven. It was reported back in the small hours of 5/6/14 that Dutch winger/striker Roy Beerens (26) from AZ Alkmaar will sign a three or maybe a four year contract in the Berlin. By June 20th there was no further news about Roy Beerens but by the 2nd of July more talk appeared in the BZ of AZ Alkmaar wanting €2.5M to let Roy go. By the 10th of July reports of Roy signing for Hertha on a three year deal were in the press and it was officially announced by Hertha via Twitter, Facebook and the Hertha website on July 11th. | 
Image thanks to Hertha Twitter account
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The Dutchman scored five goals in thirty three appearances for AZ Alkmaar last season and has picked up two caps for Holland so far.
This makes Beerens the seventh new player for the new season after: Jens Hegeler (26/Leverkusen), Valentin Stocker (25/Basel), Marvin Plattenhardt (22/Nürnberg) Genki Haraguchi, (23/Urawa), Johnny Heitinga (30) and Julian Scheiber (25).
This is quite a haul in such a short period of time! The Bundesliga site was talking a while back about a new attacking quadriga - Hertha to share the burden without Ramos
it appears Lasogga will not be extending his contract and wants to stay at HSV. On June 30th the Bild, the BZ and the Berliner Morgenpost have reported Lasogga going to HSV for a fee of between €8 to 10 million depending on which paper you want to believe.
As always, time will tell. If half the talk in the press comes to fruition the Old Lady will have a whole new team in August!
Speculation in the press
on the 27th of May news starting to break in the BZ about a possible alternative to Lasogga if he is lured away by an EPL club. Not the most reliable source of information perhaps but it did appear in Bild two days later. They report that Hoffenheim's Anthony Modeste is top of Hertha's not so secret wish list. Jos Luhukay is allegedly enthusiastic about the 26 year old striker who scored 12 goals and made four assists. Having said this I had not seen anything about this until signs appeared over two months later on August 8th saying the deal is almost done. Time will tell . .
I'm sure Michael Preetz and Jos Luhukay are preparing for all eventualities!
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