Big gift for the coaches: To stay in the league: Hamburger SV is really getting down to business

After what feels like an eternity, Hamburger SV is returning to the Bundesliga. The excitement is high, and the club is busy. They've signed an experienced striker, along with a bundle of energy from Salzburg. And there's good news for the coaches, too.

Sporting Director Stefan Kuntz of newly promoted Bundesliga club Hamburger SV has announced a rapid contract extension with the coaching team led by head coach Merlin Polzin. Talks are "in the final stages" to extend the contracts, which expire next summer, until 2027.

With this, Kuntz wants to give Polzin the "security and backing" that HSV believes in the team, that they are no longer "the little Hamburg boys": "No, no, these are our Bundesliga coaches, with whom we are prepared to go through crises. And we will have to, because we will have crises."

Kuntz also confirmed that Hamburg are close to signing striker Yussuf Poulsen from RB Leipzig. The transfer is only a "matter of three, four, five days," Kuntz said. The 31-year-old Poulsen is set to replace fan favorite Davie Selke, whose contract expired at the end of June. The transfer of Argentine midfielder Nicolás Capaldo from Red Bull Salzburg has already been completed. "He brings a lot of energy, mentality, and temperament," Kuntz said.

HSV's clear goal after seven years in the second division is to "stay in the league," Kuntz emphasized. The newly promoted team faces a "brutal reality" next season in its "difficult" mission, adding that the Bundesliga is "no fun, it's not kindergarten." HSV must adapt after promotion, including "learning to fight" and being "nasty" and "prickly."

In preparation for the season, HSV will hold two training camps in Herzogenaurach (July 14-18) and Mallorca (August 6-10). Their first competitive match is scheduled for August 16, in the first round of the DFB Cup against FK Pirmasens. The storied club will kick off its Bundesliga campaign with a clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach (August 23), before facing FC St. Pauli in the city derby on the second matchday.