Hübner in interview: Hinteregger and Kostic to stay, Hütter to re-up soon
Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Bruno Hübner sat down with Kicker early this week. Will the SGE engage in another autumn of landmark moves?
| Bruno Hübner. | Photo: xtranews.de/CC-by-SA 2.0 |
Working together with club "Sporting CEO" Fredi Bobic, the two executive mavericks replaced their entire striking corps, selling and loaning off an attacking trio of Sebastien Haller, Luka Jovic, and Ante Rebic (known colloquially by the local ultras as the “Buffalo Herd”) with André Silva, Gonçalo Paciencia and Bas Dost (whose rapid success quickly earned them the nickname “The Crocodiles”).
With Bobic’s hand at least tangentially involved in personnel moves this autumn, many expect another sell-off to take place in the coming weeks. With it already confirmed that the club have entertained offers for star performers such as Martin Hinteregger and Filip Kostic, Hübner’s clear intent during the interview appeared to downplay that possibility.
Hübner emphasized that both Kostic and Hinteregger feel very much at home with die Adler. The new sole sporting director took special care to emphasize that Hinteregger, in particular, had turned down many high profile offers prior to the much publicized €20 million reel-in attempt from fellow Austrian Ralph Hassenhüttl at Southampton earlier this week.
“There will always be offers [for Martin], because he’s good,” Hübner noted when referring to the 27-year-old centere-back much beloved by the SGE ultras, “but he has clearly stated that he sees himself here next season and further in the future.”
Hübner was slightly less committal when discussing the future of attacking midfielder Daichi Kamada. The 24-year-old Japanese international is in the final year of his contract, and the pressure mounts on Frankfurt to cash in on his value, which Transfermarkt rates as high as €12 million, while they still can.
The natural no. 10 has resisted contract extension offers over the summer. There exist understandable disagreements over his value, given how wildly consistent the last campaign was. Kamada managed only two goals in 28 league appearances, yet tallied six time in Europa League and twice in the DFB-Pokal.
Hübner linked the negotiations to extend Kamada’s contract with the club’s efforts to renew their deal with manager Adi Hütter, whose contract also expires at the end of the coming season. “You always need a trainer who maintains trust in you,” Hübner said of the pair, “And Adi Hütter did that for him even in times when he wasn’t performing. He always believed in Daichi’s strengths and I think that will make the difference.”
Hübner did express confidence that Hütter would sign an extension prior to the return to competitive play with the opening Pokal Round on September 12th.
