Mancienne joins Hamburg

Former Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne has spoken of his delight at signing a four-year deal with Bundesliga club Hamburg.

The 23-year-old will link up with his new team after returning from national duty with England at the Under-21 European Championship finals in Denmark this month.

Mancienne spent the last three years on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers and made 16 appearances in the English Premier League in the last campaign.

But with opportunities hard to come by at Stamford Bridge, Mancienne is thrilled to be joining a team with a similar history and stature.

“Hamburg are a big club with a lot of tradition and some fantastic fans,” he said.

“It’s a big challenge for me to be able to play for this club. It would be great if I could play a part in helping Hamburg get back into Europe.”

“To be an Englishman in the Bundesliga is quite rare and it’s a massive opportunity for me.”

Mancienne will reunite with former Chelsea director Frank Arnesen in Germany, where he now serves as Hamburg’s sporting director.

“I have spoken to Frank Arnesen a lot about Hamburg and obviously he has spoken to me a lot about it,” Mancienne said.

“He showed me that it is a massive club to play for and I’m really excited and looking forward to it.”

Arnesan added: “I know Michael from Chelsea and have followed his development for years, so I’m aware of his great potential.”

Hamburg finished eighth in the last Bundesliga campaign under Michael Oenning, who was promoted from an assistant role after Armin Veh was sacked in March.