Israeli international Daniel Peretz will remain in the German Bundesliga as he has moved to Hamburger SV from Bayern Munich on a season-long loan for the 2025/26 campaign in order to shore up the newly promoted club’s goalkeeping unit.
The 25-year-old shot-stopper made seven appearances for the German champions last season after having been brought to Munich from Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2023.
Peretz, who has played for the blue-and-white at all youth levels as well as in seven games for the senior national team, will want to prove that he can take the No. 1 role from Daniel Heuer Fernandes.
“Daniel is a complete goalkeeper who defends his box with courage and who has an excellent mentality,” noted director of football Claus Costa, highlighting the 1.95-meter (6-foot-4) Peretz’s strengths. “Our talks with him were pleasant and productive from the outset. After signing him, we have exceptional depth in the goalkeeper position and are hoping that the lads will push one another to be on their A-game.”
Peretz stays with Bayern Munich
Peretz had considerable interest from several teams, with PSV Eindhoven and Genoa also reportedly keeping an eye on him, but at the end of the day, Hamburger was the team that he felt most comfortable with.
After completing his medical at UKE Athleticum and signing his contract at the Volksparkstadion, Peretz made his way toward the dressing rooms to introduce himself to his new teammates and take part in his first training session under goalkeeper coach Sven Höh.
“For me, there’s no time to lose. I can hardly wait to get started and get involved in my first team training session tomorrow,” explained Peretz, who will wear the number 26 shirt for the Rothosen. “I’m really honored that I have the chance to be part of this massive club. Our main goal is clear – we want to stay up. I want to play my part as an absolute team player and make the fans happy.”
When Hamburg was relegated from the Bundesliga at the end of the 2017/18 season, there was a massive amount of disappointment. That was not only because it is a team with a glorious past that includes six championships and winning the European Cup in 1983, but because up until then it had been the only team to have participated in every Bundesliga season since the league's founding in 1963, which earned it the well-deserved nickname “Die Rothosen,” The Red Shorts.
Since then, Hamburg has remained in the second division for seven seasons, which have included two losses in the promotion/relegation play-offs, while four times it finished in fourth place, just inches away from promotion. During this time, Hamburg saw very modest city rival St. Pauli move to the top division while it languished in the lower league.
In the 2024/25 season, Hamburg finally achieved their goal, as it was promoted to the Bundesliga thanks to a 6–1 win over Ulm, which sealed the deal with a match to spare. Even though it was promoted, Hamburg did not win the title, finishing runner-up as it lost 3-2 away against Greuther Furth while Köln beat Kaiserslautern 4-0, clinching both the title and promotion
Peretz, who moved from Bayern Munich on a one-season loan without an option to buy, will battle it out for the first-choice goalkeeper position against Fernandes, who saved a penalty in the promotion match and is considered a fan favorite. The Israeli’s height gives him an advantage over Fernandes, who is just 1.88 meters, as there are many difficult aerial battles in the Bundesliga. However, Fernandes has had to fight for a place in the lineup since 2019 and is still playing for the club after more than half a decade.
If Peretz should start in goal this season, it will no doubt be a tough role to fill as a newly promoted club after having conceded 44 goals last year, which was six more than first-place Koln and seven more than SV Elversberg, which finished third.
Having had the opportunity to learn from one of the game’s greatest keepers in Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich, Peretz no doubt will be able to implement many of the lessons he learned over that time to help him with his new team as he enters a new and exciting chapter and challenge in his young career.