Terem Moffi arrives at Hamburg with seven Bundesliga records in sight

Terem Moffi, 27, has completed a permanent move to Hamburger SV from OGC Nice and will wear the No. 9 shirt. The Nigeria international scored 24 goals in 72 appearances for Nice after joining the Ligue 1 club in January 2023, and now has seven Bundesliga records in his sights.

Moffi arrives in Germany after spending the second half of last season on loan at Porto, where he scored twice in 15 competitive appearances. He has also scored six goals in 23 senior matches for Nigeria. His immediate task at Hamburg will be to help the club remain in the top flight after promotion a few months ago.

The most attainable major target is Kevin Keegan’s Hamburg record for a foreign player in a Bundesliga season. Keegan scored 17 goals in the 1978/79 campaign, when Hamburg won the German title, and Moffi would need 18 to surpass that mark. The same season saw Keegan credited with 16 assists for HSV.

Moffi can also pursue the Nigerian single-season Bundesliga record held by Taiwo Awoniyi. The Union Berlin forward scored 15 league goals in 2021/22, leaving Moffi needing 16 to establish a new national best. That would require almost a goal every two matches over a 34-game season.

The larger challenges belong to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler. Aubameyang’s 31 goals for Borussia Dortmund in 2016/17 remain the highest single-season total by an African player in the Bundesliga, while his 98 career goals are also the African record. Moffi would need 32 in one season or 99 across his Bundesliga career to move ahead.

Seeler scored 30 goals in 30 matches for Hamburg in 1963/64, setting the club’s single-season Bundesliga record. Moffi needs 31 to break it. Seeler also leads HSV’s Bundesliga scoring list with 137 goals, making that a long-term ambition rather than an immediate target.

Another Nigerian mark belongs to Jonathan Akpoborie, who scored 61 Bundesliga goals in 144 appearances for Hansa Rostock, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg. Moffi would require 62 to take that record. Hamburg begin their campaign away to Borussia Dortmund after a DFB Cup first-round match at Verl.