And yet there were several transfers that can be heavily criticized...not just the more expensive ones because no matter how much Serdar and Richter have cost, they at least offer some kind of value to the club. The same can't be said for guys like Bjorkan or Lee who were clearly not good enough for the Bundesliga and pretty much given away for free not even a year after signing them...or someone like Kelian Nsona who had agreed to join on a free transfer last summer and yet Hertha felt it would make sense to spend 500k on him so he could join Hertha in January 22 and recover from a crucial ligament injury in Berlin. Well here we are one year later and he still hasn't been able to play a single game. ^^
And the whole idea of loaning out expensive players hoping that they'd end up being bought never worked out either. Even if they all have flaws, Hertha would have certainly found the likes of Alderete, Piatek, Torunarigha, Ascacibar or Lukebakio (in 21/22) useful at some point during the season.You really have to wonder what kind of contracts Preetz gave those players if Hertha is so hellbent on getting rid of them.
Anyway, kicker now claims that Hertha is going to buy "at least 2 new players" in the next three days. Not sure why there's money available all of a sudden and who is going to decide which players to sign but maybe they get lucky for once...
What you're describing kind of supports my point, because these are precisely the high risk transfers driven by a lack of funding I was talking about. Björkan and Lee were examples of taking a punt on players from obscure leagues in the hopes that they may adapt to Bundesliga's level. With Nsona something unforeseen must have gone terribly wrong with his recovery, I looked at an article from the time he was signed and it mentioned that he was expected to return later in the season. That's either bad luck or an incompetent medical department.
In contrast we can look at a club that most people deem to be very well run. Let's say Union Berlin:
Pawel Wzolek, signed from Legia on a free, loaned back to them after half a season, made that permanent for free. Played 17 minute against Waldhof Mannheim.
Keita Endo, signed for 900k out of J-League, played about 500 minutes in Bundesliga, 1 goal 0 assists (attacking midfielder), currently on loan at Braunschweig.
Tim Skarke, signed on a free this summer, played 100 minutes, loaned to Schalke half a year later.
Tymoteusz Puchacz, signed for €2.5m from Lech Poznan, loaned out half a year later, loaned out again this summer.
Rick van Dronghelen, signed for €500k, literally 0 minutes played for Union, currently on his second loan out.
It's fairly normal for transfers to be hit and miss, when you're looking for extreme bargains.
And regarding the outgoing loans, finances are important of course, but it may have gone beyond that. Having an unmotivated player, who earns several times the wage of his peers is bad for team spirit. And as far as I remember there were reports about Lukebakio's attitude even at Wolfsburg.
Anyway, kicker now claims that Hertha is going to buy "at least 2 new players" in the next three days. Not sure why there's money available all of a sudden and who is going to decide which players to sign but maybe they get lucky for once...
That part sounds seriously fishy to me. Like people doing stuff just to do something.