Hoffenheim loan Szalai out to Freiburg

SC Freiburg officially confirmed the arrival of Hungarian defender Attila Szalai on loan early Sunday morning. 

Attila Szalai’s loan out from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to SC Freiburg is officially through. The Hungarian international heads to Breisgau on an arrangement good through the end of the season. Freiburg have thus quickly procured a replacement for the injured Philipp Lienhart. Szalai may be in for an immediate start next weekend after central defender Manuel Gulde was sent off on double yellows in yesterday’s 3-2 victory over Szalai’s parent club.

“We’ve found a very good solution for our current situation,” SCF personnel executive Klemens Hartenbach noted in a club statement, “Attila has international experience and can help us immediately. With his robustness and strength in tackles, he can be an important factor for any defense. We are very much looking forward to our time together and are all working hard to achieve our goals.”

“Attila has many qualities that make him a good center back in the Bundesliga,” Hoffenheim sporting director Alexander Rosen added, “However, we have to honestly say that the signing has not worked out for him or for TSG. That’s why we’ve decided together with him to loan him out to Freiburg until the end of the season so that he can start again in the summer after what will hopefully be a successful European Championship for him personally.”

The 41-times-capped Hungarian international cost the Kraichgauer a reported €12.3 million this past summer, making him the most expensive defender ever purchased by the TSG. Despite the high price tag, the 26-year-old has proven an irrefutable flop for his new German club. Szalai made clear in his first public statement as an SCF player that he hoped to turn matters around.

I” have big plans for this year with the upcoming European Championship in Germany and will give my best shot ahead of it,” Szalai said, “I’m really looking forward to my new colleagues and the challenges with the Sport-Club.”

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