Fábio Vieira continues to enjoy a fine season in Germany with SV Hamburg, where the on-loan Arsenal midfielder has re-found his form and heightened speculation over his future ahead of the summer transfer window.
Vieira joined Hamburg last August upon their promotion to the Bundesliga, since when he has helped his side to a position of comfortable mid-table safety. With 11 goal involvements from his 23 starts and 4 sub appearances (six goals, five assists) Vieira has been a prominent figure in Die Rothosen’s midfield.
With several classy moments during the season, Vieira added another at the weekend when scoring the winning goal as Hamburg came from behind to win 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt. The goal was a wonderfully worked team move, which Vieira finished with typical quality to give his team a victory which mathematically ensured their survival with two games to spare.
“It was one of the best goals for me this season,” Vieira admitted after the game. “We worked so hard this week to come here [Frankfurt] because we knew it would be hard, they have a lot of quality. But we prepared in the best possible way to compete and to win.
“The goal? From the moment I saw the ball with Albert [Grønbæk] I saw that Ransy [Königsdörffer] was attracting the centre-back and I saw the space behind the centre-back, so I decided to make the run. I knew straight away that a quality player like Albert is able to make these type of passes, so I knew he would give me the ball. Then it was on me and I scored, so I’m happy.”
"A joy to play alongside"
Danish international Grønbæk was similarly complimentary when asked about Vieira after their combination for the goal. “It’s a joy to play alongside someone like Fábio Vieira,” he said. “His match intelligence is outstanding – you can give him the ball in any situation and he’ll make something special happen.”
The subject of Vieira’s future at the end of his loan deal was raised tentatively with the Portuguese after the match, but was answered vaguely. “I don’t know what can happen,” he replied. “A lot of things are going on. I’m here and I’m very happy to be here, it’s a great club. At the end of the season we will have our vacations and we’ll see what happens next.”
The option to sign Vieira permanently from Arsenal would cost around €20m, which according to reports is a figure impossible for Hamburg to consider. Therefore, a renegotiation will be required if the German side are to enter talks with the Gunners over keeping the midfielder, but it remains to be seen if they will face competition for his signature.
Frankfurt 1-2 Hamburg - brief highlights
