Super Eagles star Moffi leaves Hamburg boss surprised after completing Nice transfer

Hamburger SV coach Merlin Polzin admits he was surprised by the club’s ability to bring Super Eagles striker Terem Moffi to Germany from OGC Nice, Soccernet.ng reports.

Moffi joined Hamburg on a permanent deal on August 24 after more than three years at Nice. The 27-year-old signed a three-year contract and took the No. 9 shirt as Hamburg prepared for its return to the Bundesliga.

The deal was reported to be worth €2 million, with another €500,000 available in add-ons. It gave Hamburg an experienced striker at a relatively low cost after Moffi spent the second half of last season on loan at FC Porto.

Moffi scored 24 goals in 72 appearances for Nice. He also has six goals in 23 matches for Nigeria. His career has included spells at Kortrijk, Lorient, Nice and Porto, giving him experience in several European leagues.

His arrival also adds another attacking option to a Hamburg squad that includes Zambia international Patson Daka. Moffi had his first training session with his new team on August 25, only one day after Hamburg's 3-0 DFB-Pokal win at SC Verl.

That leaves Polzin with a short window to decide how much Moffi can contribute in Hamburg's first Bundesliga match. The game is against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday, August 29, with kick-off at 6:30 p.m. local time. Hamburg enters the match after winning its cup opener convincingly.

Polzin praises Moffi's character

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Polzin said the transfer was a major achievement for sporting director Claus Costa and his team.

“Huge credit to Claus (sporting director Costa, ed.) and his team for ultimately managing to convince him to join us and finding a way to make the transfer happen.

“Terem is a player who laughs a lot, communicates and is very open with us coaches and the team. He is absolutely eager to play football. He is a huge asset to our squad, simply because of his personality.

“As a player, too, he has already given us a glimpse of what he can do in the few training sessions he has had. He definitely has a nose for goal in the opposition box.

“He will complete the final training session tomorrow and then we will see how ready he is for Dortmund.”

Moffi, who would like to hit the ground running, would be keen to go from a new signing to a Bundesliga debutant against one of Germany's top clubs within days. Dortmund finished as runners-up to champions Bayern Munich last season.