Hamburg have concluded perhaps the biggest Bundesliga transfer coup of the entire summer with the conclusion of the loan deal for Arsenal’s Fabio Vieira. The €22m-valued attacker moves to a newly promoted German top flight side on loan. In the event they can escape relegation, the Hanseaten will have the option of purchasing the Portuguese talent for €20m.

Hamburg have now signed three Premier League players this summer, but the captures of Vieira’s Arsenal teammate Sambi Lokonga and Tottenham’s Luka Vuskovic come nowhere close to the gravitas of the just-completed deal. Vieira’s estimated market value is more than triple the highest valued player on Hamburg’s 2. Bundesliga squad last season.

Hamburg’s highest-valued 2024/25 professional (Ludovit Reis, €7m) isn’t even with the Hanseatic club anymore. Viera (€22m), Vuskovic (€12), and Lokonga (€8m) have now pushed Hamburg’s total squad value to €108m. HSV now possess a squad valued at double that of two returning top flight clubs, FC Heidenheim and FC St. Pauli. 

“Fabio is a classic playmaker who brings a lot of creativity,” HSV board-member-for-sport Stefan Kuntz noted in a club statement. “We were determined to strengthen our midfield. With the signing of Fabio, we have filled the last vacant position with a high-quality player. He will give our offense even more options.”

“Fabio is technically strong with an excellent left foot,” HSV sporting director Claus Costa noted in his own statement. “He has a lot of creativity and can provide decisive impetus in the final third with his final and penultimate passes. He’s an asset to our team as an initiator of offensive play and a long-range threat.“

“I had very good talks with head coach [Merlin Polzin],” the player himself added. “From the very beginning, he [Polzin] gave me the feeling that he fully believed in my qualities and really wanted to sign me for the team. That was one of the main reasons why I really wanted to move here.”