By now, most people have heard about the ambitions of Lars Windhorst to make Hertha Berlin a serious contender. With new investment into the club thanks to his 49% stake, Windhorst believes Hertha should be regulars in European football. It is clear to see that manager Jurgen Klinsmann buys into the ambition as well. Hertha won’t be dining at the top table of transfers anytime soon, possibly never, but for a Bundesliga club that is in the bottom half of the table, spending £64.2 million in January is significant. I won’t talk about the £20.3 million spent on Lucas Tousart for now, since the Frenchman has been loaned back to Lyon. The other three signings are excellent additions considering where Hertha are at this stage of their evolution.
While Hertha’s bravado has been rightly laughed at in some cases, there is no denying the upturn in form since Klinsmann has been in the dugout. They’ve lost only two games out of eight, to Dortmund and Bayern. Take away those two defeats, and Hertha have conceded only three goals in six games. While the defence has improved, the signing of Santiago Ascacibar adds some much needed steel at the base of midfield. The Argentinean terrier has already made an impact in his three games, providing bite to stop the opposition, while also maintaining good possession and taking up smart positions to relieve pressure on the defence. At his age, Ascacibar can end up being Hertha’s midfield totem for years to come.
Then there’s the two signings further up the pitch. First, Krzysztof Piatek. The Polish hotshot was seemingly on the radar of every big club last winter after a fantastic first half of the season with Genoa. After moving to Milan, he hit the ground running with goals in his first six games and then…AC Milan happened. As the Rossoneri struggled to develop any discernible pattern of play, many started to see Piatek’s limitations. Maybe it was just a case of leaving a mid table team that he was perfect for, too soon. Now that he’s back at a club that’s not going to be too fussed about style of play, Piatek could conceivably replicate his form for Genoa without worrying about how he links up with midfielders. And finally, the joker in the pack, Matheus Cunha. The young Brazilian winger showed fleeting glimpses of outrageous talent at Leipzig, but such a free spirit was unlikely to be a fundamental part of a system manager like Julian Nagelsmann. If Klinsmann’s greatest strength lies in motivating players, then Cunha may just be the ideal breaker of games for Hertha when they are chasing a result. As things stand, all three winter signings serve a purpose and there is no reason for pessimism amongst fans of the capital side.