Both sides lacked the ultimate conviction to continue on this path together. Therefore, the liaison between Niklas Stark (26) and Hertha BSC ends after seven years in the summer.
Niklas Stark (right) will leave Hertha BSC.
IMAGO/Photo mode
At the matchday press conference held this time in the tranquil training camp town of Harsewinkel, Managing Director Fredi Bobic confirmed what kicker had reported the day before: that Hertha BSC and Niklas Stark will part ways after this season. There were “many discussions behind the scenes over the year” without fruitful results. “It comes down to this,” explained Bobic, “that his contract will end and Niklas will certainly change.”
Hertha is letting its vice-captain, who is one of the higher earners in the squad, move on a free transfer – for financial reasons and because the club lacks the ultimate conviction in its leadership qualities. “Unfortunately, economic issues have sometimes become much more important than sporting issues these days,” said Bobic. “It was difficult to make him an adequate offer for an extension.”
Everything turned out very differently
Almost nine months ago, in early summer 2021, the starting position in Hertha’s central defense seemed different: Bobic made a deposit with Stark’s advisor about his intention to enter into concrete contract negotiations – at the same time, central defender competitor Dedryck Boyata should use the EM stage with Belgium and contact interested parties put in the window. It turned out differently: Captain Boyata extended Hertha early in August until 2024, while the talks with Stark never came close to an agreement.
And from late summer, those in the know got the feeling that both sides – club and player – were becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of trying without the other after the contract expired in summer 2022. Hertha would have liked the smart Franconia to have more profile in times of crisis, Stark from the club a different sporting development – and in one place or another more backing.
Magath sees Stark on the six
Under Jürgen Klinsmann he wanted to leave in January 2020, under Tayfun Korkut he didn’t have the standing he did under Pal Dardai. Korkut’s successor Felix Magath put the regular central defender Stark in his first game as Hertha coach against TSG Hoffenheim (3-0) – and was rewarded for the move. Magath told kicker: “Niklas Stark grew up in this position. I followed him during his time at 1. FC Nürnberg, he was a very hopeful player and became a national player.” Stark, who headed to make it 1-0, only had 23 ball contacts, but ordered the ranks in 4-1-4-1 and gave the team what they so desperately needed: stability. Magath’s praise explicitly included Stark’s performance: “It was just good how compact we were. And it was difficult to get past our defence.”
He wants to stay up with the team so he can get out here on the red carpet.
Despite the impending farewell, Stark is expected to play a key role in the season finale under Magath. “It’s important for me that he hits everything until the end – and he will do that,” said Bobic. “He is an absolute top sportsman, important for the team. He wants to stay up with the team so that he can get out here on the red carpet.”
Stark, whom Hertha transferred from 1. FC Nürnberg in August 2015 for a fee of three million euros, was already interested in the winter from England (West Ham, Wolverhampton). In addition to some Bundesliga clubs, a Serie A club is currently dealing with him. According to reports, not even a preliminary decision has been made about the future workplace.
For the future, Hertha has already positioned itself in the center of defense without him. Before Boyata, another central defender in Marton Dardai had signed a long-term contract (2025). The 18-year-old homegrown Linus Gechter – right-footed like Boyata and Stark – is playing an amazingly calm premiere season on the Bundesliga stage and two weeks ago extended it to 2025. Jordan Torunarigha, who was loaned to KAA Gent in the winter without an option to buy, will return from Belgium for the time being in the summer back to Berlin – it cannot be ruled out that he will stay. And in January, Bobic steered Marc Oliver Kempf (contract until 2026) his dream central defender from Stuttgart to Berlin.
Kempf and Stark were a promising tandem when they were youngsters together at the DFB, both in 2014 when they won the U-19 European Championship (1-0 in the final against Portugal) and in 2017 when they won the U-21 European Championship ( 1-0 in the final against Spain). Both have seven games left – nine if Hertha is relegated.
Then the car lover Stark moves on. He was the most stable central defender in a chronically unstable team this season and one who kept coming back even after bad games – of which there were quite a few at Hertha. It was not subject to an entertainment tax, and the fact that this heterogeneous squad – for coaches and leading players – was often difficult to steer was noticed by other people at Hertha in addition to Stark in times of permanent upheaval. “Niklas,” said Bobic on Friday, “perhaps feels a change in himself that could do him good.” This impression is not wrong.
