OGC Nice have all but confirmed Terem Moffi’s departure, and Hamburger SV are moving quickly to beat Besiktas to the Nigeria international’s signature this summer.
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Hamburger SV have joined the race for Terem Moffi, opening talks over a cut-price deal for the Nigeria international as OGC Nice push him toward the Ligue 1 exit door this summer. The Bundesliga club see the 27 year old as the target man their attack has been missing.
Moffi returned to Nice’s pre-season training this week after a loan spell at Portuguese champions FC Porto failed to convince the Primeira Liga club to sign him permanently. He managed just two goals and one assist in 15 appearances for Porto in the second half of last season.
The striker has endured a rough two seasons at the Allianz Riviera. An anterior cruciate ligament injury wiped out most of his 2024/25 campaign, and he made only 10 appearances after his return before Nice shipped him out on loan in January.
Nice’s new sporting director Roger Ricort has made clear there is no way back for the forward. “We don’t necessarily respect the man but we will respect the player,” Ricort said, adding that Moffi will be treated properly and kept in good physical shape while the club works with his agents to find him a new home. President Maurice Cohen has echoed that stance, confirming Moffi sits on the club’s list of desired departures and insisting he will be moved on at some point.
The fallout traces back to an incident with Nice supporters following a league defeat last season, an episode that soured relations between the striker and the fanbase beyond repair. Ricort said picking him for the first team again would be disrespectful to those fans.
That collapse in standing has hit his valuation hard. Nice paid Lorient €22.5 million for Moffi back in 2023, but Transfermarkt now lists him at around €8 million, with just a year left on his contract. Anyone tracking how quickly transfer fees swing this window can check the Bet9ja sign-up bonus before more deals like this one break.
For Hamburg, the timing works. Head coach Merlin Polzin wants an attacker who can play as a focal point up top, someone with physical presence, mobility and a nose for goal, and he confirmed to Hamburger Abendblatt that the club plans to strengthen the position before the window shuts.
Hamburg currently field Patson Daka, youngster Otto Stange and Yussuf Poulsen as their senior striker options, but none of the three arrived with a guaranteed goal return attached. That gap is exactly what’s driving the club’s interest in a proven Ligue 1 scorer available on the cheap.
Moffi isn’t short of suitors either way. Turkish Super Lig giants Besiktas have also been credited with interest as they look to reinforce their attack ahead of the new season, and the Istanbul club could yet complicate Hamburg’s plans. New Bet9ja users following the race can grab Bet9ja’s current promo code before staking on how it plays out.
Despite the drama in France, Moffi’s underlying numbers still explain the interest. He has scored 54 goals in 148 Ligue 1 appearances across his time with Lorient and Nice, a record that puts him among the more prolific Nigerian forwards in the French top flight this decade.
A move to Hamburg would also put him back in regular first-team football after a year defined by injury and fallout rather than form, something that matters for a player still hoping to hold down a Super Eagles starting spot. Nice, for their part, appear ready to let him go for a fraction of what they paid.
Whether it’s Hamburg or Besiktas who get there first, Moffi looks set to be one of the more notable Nigerian departures from Ligue 1 this window. Fans keeping an eye on how the saga unfolds can check the YOHAIG promo code ahead of the next round of transfer news.
📌 Did You Know?
- Moffi began his senior career in Lithuania with FK Kauno Zalgiris before moving on to Riteriai, where he scored 20 goals in 29 league games.
- That Riteriai form persuaded Belgian side Kortrijk to sign him for €1.4 million in January 2020, his first move into a major European league.
- Moffi has earned 23 caps for the Super Eagles since making his senior Nigeria debut in 2021.
- He stands 1.88 metres tall, a physical profile that fits the target-man role Hamburg’s coaching staff are specifically looking to fill.
- Hamburg returned to the Bundesliga after years in the second tier and avoided relegation trouble last season despite lacking a reliable senior striker.
- Moffi was born in Calabar, Cross River State, and left Nigeria at 17 to join the Buckswood academy in Hastings, England.
- His move from Lorient to Nice in 2023 remains one of the biggest transfer fees ever paid for a Nigerian forward in Ligue 1.
