With two weeks to go before the start of the second division season against Schalke, Hertha BSC continues to have personnel worries—and rumors about a new striker.

Hertha BSC completed a successful test at the end of its training camp in Kitzbühel. The Berliners defeated Austrian Bundesliga side Austria Vienna 2-1 (1-0).

“I’m very satisfied! It was a really good test – both in terms of atmosphere and football. The boys put in a strong performance against a good team, were disciplined and played as a unit. The victory is deserved. I’m delighted that we were able to end the week like this,” said coach Stefan Leitl after the game on Friday evening. What is less pleasing for the coach is that the Berliners still have personnel problems less than two weeks before their opening game against Schalke 04 (Friday, August 1, 8:30 p.m.).

The situation, which was extremely tense at the start of the training camp, had actually calmed down again. In the test match against Vienna, Paul Seguin and Deyo Zeefuik were finally supposed to get some playing practice before the start of the Schalke game after recovering from injuries.

However, the two professionals, who were scheduled to be regular starters, had to withdraw. Due to a lack of training, they were unable to play. In addition, Diego Demme, another important player, was also unavailable. “I would have liked to have given them a few minutes on the pitch. From a medical point of view, it was understandable. Nevertheless, when you play without Demme, Seguin, and Zeefuik, I think we still have room for improvement,” Leitl said, according to the Bild newspaper. On July 25, they will face Motherwell in Scotland. Against Schalke, they will be keeping a close eye on how Seguin’s situation develops. The midfielder moved to the capital after two mixed years in Gelsenkirchen. He is facing an explosive return on the first day of the season.

Another possibility is that Hertha will bring in a new striker for the season opener. The second division club is known to be looking for a striker. In addition to Bremen’s Dawid Kownacki, a two-time German international has also been linked with a move. According to Bild, the player in question is Mergim Berisha. The 27-year-old moved from Augsburg to TSG Hoffenheim two years ago for €14 million and has played twice for the German national team. His career then stalled due to a cruciate ligament rupture. Berisha returned to Augsburg on loan in the second half of last season. Hertha is now courting the 2021 U21 European champion, who is also said to have received offers from abroad.