HSV Frontline Gets Faster and more Dynamic with Rayan Philippe Transfer

Hamburger SV officially announced the long rumored transfer of French forward Rayan Philippe from Eintracht Braunschweig; the move adds more speed and creativity to the HSV attack

On Wednesday morning Hamburger SV officially announced the signing of 24-year-old French forward Rayan Philippe from Eintracht Braunschweig, seemingly adding the final piece to their attack for the upcoming 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The Red Shorts paid Eintracht Braunschweig 3.5 million euros for the move, according to Transfermarkt. Philippe was the key cog in a relatively high powered Braunschweig attack, and essentially single-handedly saved the Lions from a relegation to the 3.Liga this past season with fourteen goals and six assists across 37 official games.

On the transfer, HSV Sporting Director Stefan Kuntz praised Philippe’s role in Braunschweig’s survival campaign, and emphasized that the French forward and the Red Shorts will be taking the next step together:

“Rayan was a key performer for Braunschweig and played a big role in them staying up last season in particular. He’s an extremely interesting player and we’ve closely followed his positive development. He’s shown his strengths in the second division and we’re now pleased that Rayan will take the next step in his career together with HSV as we both move into the Bundesliga and try to establish ourselves there” (hsv.de)

While Philippe, who will wear the number fourteen recently vacated by Ludovit Reis, played most of last season as a central number nine for Braunschweig, one of his great strengths is his versatility. In addition to playing as a striker, he also spent time as a false nine, and played on both wings last season.

His ability to play on the wings is of particular interest to the Red Shorts, and should allow him to slot right into the starting XI on Matchday One. It has been reported that Head Coach Merlin Polzin plans to continue employing his 4-3-3 system that romped through the 2.Bundesliga last season in the Bundesliga.

In that system, two of the three starting spots on the front line were already guaranteed. Philippe’s countryman Jean-Luc Dompé figures to be an every match starter on the left wing, where he tormented 2.Liga right backs last season. The starting striker spot figures to belong to talisman Robert Glatzel, who is fully healthy after missing much of last season with a tendon injury. It appears that Davie Selke, who led the 2.Bundesliga in scoring last season will depart Hamburg on a free transfer. Ransford Königsdörffer will likely remain the backup striker and off-the-bench super sub in the Bundesliga, and it is also possible that Polzin will play Königsdörffer more in the midfield next season, a tactical move he employed late in the season to great effect.

With the striker and left wing spots already occupied, Philippe’s most natural fit in the HSV lineup is as a right winger. The other options for the right wing are HSV’s longest tenured player Bakery Jatta, who will be coming off of an injury that caused him to miss almost the entire Rückrunde and Emir Sahiti, who showed flashes of brilliance last season in the 2.Bundesliga, but was also maddeningly inconsistent at times. Philippe provides an upgrade in quality over both Sahiti and Jatta, allowing them to slide into off-the-bench roles that are likely a better fit for them in the higher quality of the Bundesliga. Philippe’s dominant left foot means that he will have an easier time cutting inside to shoot on goal from the right wing than either Jatta or Sahiti, both of whom are right footed. He also possesses immense pace for a player who primarily played as a striker last season, clocking in as the fourth-fastest 2.Bundesliga player last season and breaking the 36 km/h mark. This pace should translate well to the wing, and also gives Polzin to turn on the hyperdrive at times and play a front three of Dompé, Königsdörffer and Philippe when he so chooses, all of whom are incredibly fast.

Kicker has already reported that the primary plan is for Philippe to start on the right wing for HSV, while also adding that his versatility creates flexibility for the other options up front, given that he can also play down the middle or down the left. Director of Football and Head Scout Claus Costa emphasized the importance of Philippe’s versatility in the club’s press release, stating:

“With his versatility and athleticism, Rayan was exactly the kind of attacking player we were looking for. Whether he plays as a centre forward, a false nine or a right winger, he impresses with his pace, runs in behind and is a threat in front of goal. He will make us harder to predict in attack and will improve our overall attacking play” (hsv.de).

Philippe is the fourth new arrival to HSV in this transfer window, along with midfielder Nicolai Remberg from Holstein Kiel, center back Jordan Torunarigha from Belgian side KAA Gent, and goalkeeping talent Fernando Dickes from RB Leipzig. Philippe, Remberg and Torunarigha all figure to be starters from day one, while Dickes is more of a long term project. The only key departure that is official so far is the sale of midfielder Ludovit Reis to Club Brugge in Belgium, though it appears that striker Davie Selke and center back Dennis Hadžikadunić may also be on their way out the door.

Various sources in Hamburg have reported that the Red Shorts are not done in the transfer window, and that Kuntz, Costa and Polzin hope to add at least one more center back, a starting right back, and possibly another midfielder.

Transfer business will continue to unfold throughout the summer, and while the expected starting XI for Matchday One in the Bundesliga in Mönchengladbach is likely not yet all rostered, the probable starting front three is now complete with Rayan Philippe.