Hamburger SV are preparing to cash in on academy product Fabio Baldé as the Bundesliga club continue a substantial overhaul of the attacking group that helped secure promotion little more than a year ago. According to Sport Bild, Baldé is closing in on a permanent move to Ligue 1 side Racing Strasbourg and travelled to France on Wednesday to complete the final stages of the transfer.
The 21-year-old could generate a fee worth more than €7m for HSV, with additional bonus payments potentially increasing the final package. The deal would constitute a highly significant piece of transfer business for a player who entered the summer outside Merlin Polzin’s projected starting XI.
Baldé made only 16 Bundesliga appearances last season, starting three and registering one goal and one assist across 440 minutes. Persistent fitness problems also prevented him from featuring in a single preseason friendly this summer.
Baldé and Dompé exits underline rapid Hamburg transition
Baldé’s expected departure comes at the same time as HSV prepare to move on from another winger closely associated with the club’s return to the Bundesliga. Jean-Luc Dompé has been informed that he should seek a new club and was left out of HSV’s training camp squad. The circumstances surrounding the two departures differ considerably.
Baldé remains a young academy product whose potential could Hamburg to generate a substantial transfer fee despite his limited Bundesliga role. Dompé, by contrast, was one of the most important attacking figures during HSV’s promotion push and leaves after four years, 113 competitive appearances, 18 goals and 33 assists.
Get German Football News already identified Baldé and Dompé among the promotion-era attacking options whose roles would come under pressure following HSV’s return to the Bundesliga. The following season accelerated that transition.
When HSV lost Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit to injury in January, GGFN noted that Dompé had struggled with fitness problems while Baldé had yet to establish himself consistently at Bundesliga level.
Both now appear set to leave.
Polzin explains breakdown with Jean-Luc Dompé
Dompé’s situation carries an additional disciplinary dimension. The French winger was temporarily suspended in January following another road-traffic offense, a case Get German Football News covered when HSV removed him from first-team activities.
Polzin has now confirmed that the episode affected the relationship between player and club, even though HSV have officially framed the current decision primarily around sporting considerations.
“We had already spoken with him at the end of the season about what we didn’t like so much and how we wanted to change,” Polzin explained. “There was no single decisive reason. It is the sum of the fact that we want to change. If it ultimately doesn’t fit together, he gets nothing out of it and neither do we.”
The HSV head coach was particularly disappointed by what he considered a lack of reflection following the January incident.
“Of course, our relationship with him had also changed after the incidents in January, including the lack of insight on his part towards us and the team,” Polzin said. “It isn’t a nice feeling when you defend him publicly but have the feeling that nothing is coming from the other side.”
Polzin nevertheless acknowledged Dompé’s contribution to the club’s return to the top flight.
“We also told him that without him we wouldn’t still be sitting here as coaches,” he added. “But without us, he wouldn’t have become a Bundesliga player. We both benefited from it and, in the end, both suffered from it.”
Dompé remains contracted through 2027. No concrete destination has yet emerged, but HSV reportedly expect to find a solution before the transfer deadline.
HSV continue reconstructing attack
The simultaneous departures of Baldé and Dompé form part of a much wider attacking rebuild. Ransford Königsdörffer has moved to Mainz, Robert Glatzel has joined Wolfsburg and Damion Downs has returned to Southampton following his loan.
Patson Daka has already arrived and scored in the recent 2-1 friendly defeat to Everton, but Polzin has made clear that HSV still intend to add another center forward.
“We need guys who lead from the front, who can serve as target players, who have already demonstrated that they can score, who have pace and want balls played in behind,” Polzin said. “At the same time, they need to provide a physical presence in the penalty area.”
Alongside Daka, Yussuf Poulsen and youngster Otto Stange currently provide options through the middle. The expected Baldé fee should now give sporting director Costa additional financial flexibility to continue reshaping the squad.
Barely more than a year after HSV finally escaped the 2. Bundesliga, two wide attackers who formed part of that promotion group are now approaching very different exits.
Dompé appears set to depart having already played a defining role in the club’s return to the Bundesliga. Baldé leaves as an unrealized academy talent whose sale could nevertheless help finance the next stage of HSV’s attempt to establish themselves there.
