Mainz have decided not to sign Anis Ben-Hatira from Hamburg following a trial.
Bundesliga side to concentrate on a left-back and a forward
Mainz general manager Christian Heidel has revealed that the club have decided not to sign former Germany Under 21 international Anis Ben-Hatira from Hamburg following a trial.
The midfielder, who was a part of Germany's U21 European Championship-winning side in 2009, is attempting to find a new club because he does not feature in the plans of Hamburg despite being under contract until 2012.
Mainz were prepared to take a look at Ben-Hatira and offered the 21-year-old a trial period in June, which was also extended during July.
But despite refusing to rule out a move in the future, Heidel has revealed that they are not planning on doing business with Bundesliga rivals Hamburg.
Under contract
"Anis Ben-Hatira has been doing fine, but we had to tell him we will not be signing him at this point in time," Heidel told
Kicker.
"The operative is, 'at this point in time', things may not remain this way."
Mainz are instead focusing their attention on improving their defence and identifying new attacking options.
Heidel added: "We are going to focus on finding a left-back and a forward, and Ben-Hatira is not a real forward.
"He is not a classy winger, skipping into the box, he tends to drop into the centre of the pitch and we have players under contract in that position."
