Wednesday, 12th June, 2013
Hamburg’s activities for the summer could at last see players coming inwards, with sporting director Oliver Kreuzer hinting at a strong interest in free agent Roque Santa Cruz.
Hamburg have resigned themselves to losing star asset Son Heung-Min in the transfer window, with Bayer Leverkusen the likely destination, and an additional plan to "thin out the squad" is afoot.
Three players have been given the green light to find different clubs, with Kreuzer seemingly intent on erasing the memories of his predecessor Frank Arnesen’s workings at the club that caused dissatisfaction.
And in Santa Cruz, the club’s new sporting director feels he has found the perfect match for Hamburg.
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He told Bild: "Santa Cruz is an interesting player. If such a man is on the market, you should take care of it."
Having joined Manchester City in 2009, Santa Cruz was loaned out to former club Blackburn Rovers two years into Roberto Mancini’s managerial spell.
Further loan stints at Real Betis and Malaga followed, before he was eventually released in the summer, having made just 24 appearances for Manchester City in total.
It was a sign of how far he had fallen, given that he played over 200 times for current European champions Bayern Munich between 1999 and 2007.
However, Kreuzer is prepared to show more faith in the 31-year-old, as he added: "Santa Cruz fits squarely into our requirements. He can play alone up front, and he can hold up the ball. That takes a certain amount of experience."
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