Pherai: “I want to continue my development here”

Born and raised in Amsterdam, new signing Immanuel Pherai once chose to study French while at school. During his first press conference since joining the Rothosen, the 22-year-old showed off his German language skills, acquired during his time in the BVB academy in 2017. HSV’s new number 10 is also an eager student out on the pitch, having ended the 2021/22 season with 13 goal involvements (6 goals, 7 assists) from 31 third-division games with the BVB reserves. Last season, he contributed nine goals and five assists in 27 second-division games for Eintracht Braunschweig. Now, the attacker is looking to build on this success in front of goal with HSV. Hear from Immanuel Pherai on…

...his first days at HSV: I feel extremely at home here. The coaching staff and my teammates have all given me a warm welcome. I haven’t really gotten to know the city or the Hamburg lifestyle that well yet, since I’m still living in a hotel. My focus is entirely on football. 

...his goals at HSV: I want to continue my development here. During training, I can already feel that the intensity of the drills and sessions, especially on a smaller pitch and with lots of possession, is challenging me. I remember what it’s like to play like that from my time at BVB. It was very different at Braunschweig last season, where we focused more on how to play out of possession, and I was able to improve in that area as well. I want to get better this season as well, and add my name to the scoresheet as much as possible. 

...fellow Dutchman Ludovit Reis: I’ve known Ludo for a while. We played against each other as kids and didn’t live far from each other back then. We naturally spoke about my move to HSV. He only had positive things to say about the club and that really helped to confirm my decision.