Toppmoller singles out Starke

By Thomas Zeh
New Hamburg coach Klaus Toppmoller has revealed that he plans to make Bayer Leverkusen's German Under-21 keeper Tom Starke his first new signing.

Hamburg's regular number one Martin Pieckenhagen is out for around six months after tearing cruciate ligaments and reserve shot stopper Stefan Wachter ruined his Bundesliga debut with a blunder that finally allowed Schalke to take one point following the 2-2 draw at the AOL-Arena on Saturday.

Toppmoller knows the youngster from his coaching spell at Leverkusen and is convinced that Starke has what it takes to fill the vacancy.

"I can't stop the rumours anyway. Yes, I am working on the transfer," Toppmoller told Kicker.

If the deal with Starke should fall through, Hamburg are reportedly interested in former Brazilian number one Claudio Taffarel, Daniel Hoffmann from Sturm Graz and Polish duo Adam Matysek and Tomasz Bobel.