To achieve the ambition of reaching European football, a squad overhaul was somewhat needed to allow Hertha to compete strongly. With ten new faces coming in, many would have thought Hertha would have seen the most arrivals. That's not the case. Numerous clubs brought in steady cash-flow, around the seven figure mark, with the aim of being successful in their 2014/15 campaigns. The strong signings should leave Hertha in good stead towards reaching their aims.

Starting from the back, Luhukay announced the costless singing of central defender John Heitinga from Fulham. Heitinga will bring even more stability to an already sound back four who conceeded just 48 goals last season (5th best in League). Unfortunately for the capital club, they conceded goals at the wrong times in games and/or cheaply, ultimately costing them a European place. Furthermore, Nürnberg's Marvin Plattenhardt linked up with Hertha also on a permanent deal. A backline including Plattenhardt, Heitinga, Brooks and Pekarik is certainly one of the more exciting back lines in the league, with both Plattenhardt and Brooks expected to go on to achieve big things, particularly internationally.

In the middle of the park, Hertha strengthened by bringing in five players who are all good in their own right. The club finalised a permanent deal for Per Ciljan Skjelbred, following a successful loan spell last term from Hamburg. Jens Hegeler joined BSC from Leverkusen after being deemed surplus to requirements following the arrivals of their own new midfield recruits, most notably Hakan Calhanoglu. Hertha were able to fight off alleged fierce competition from a number of other European sides to win the signature of Swiss winger, Valentin Stocker. Another wide-man, Roy Beerens, joined the team from AZ Alkmaar during the summer; putting pen to paper on a bumper four year deal until 2018. Last but not least, former loanee Tolga Cigerci made a permanent move to the Olympiastadion from Wolfsburg.

In Beerens and Stocker they have got themselves two tricky wingers with pace to burn and some would say they are slight upgrades on those who departed.

Arguably the biggest arrival to the club this summer was Ivorian attacker, Salomon Kalou, from LOSC Lille on a three year contract for an undisclosed fee. Alongside Kalou, 25 year old former Dortmund forward Julian Schieber also joined the new look Hertha attacking force. Both moves undoubtedly came about as a result of the moves involving last seasons top scorer Adrian Ramos and Pierre Michel Lasogga leaving for Dortmund and Hamburg respectively. Japanese hot prospect, Genki Haraguchi also joined BSC during the summer for under five hundred thousand euros from Urawa Red Diamonds. Hertha's gamble on a virtual unknown came as a slight shock to some but the fee could be very much justified in a few seasons time if Haraguchi plays to his potential.

Neither Kalou or Schieber are like for like replacements and instead they bring something else to the table that the others couldn't. Schieber is by no means a prolific goal scorer but he can create goals for teammates. Schieber has already grabbed two goals in the first three Bundesliga match days and he could prove to be a candidate for "signing of the season" if he keeps performances up. Kalou is well travelled and versatile and you'd expect him to post respectable stats in terms of goals and assists.

Summary:

INS:

John Heitinga - Fulham
Marvin Plattenhardt - Nürnberg
Per Ciljan Skjelbred - Hamburg
Jens Hegeler - Bayer Leverkusen
Valentin Stocker - FC Basel
Tolga Cigerci - Wolfsburg
Roy Beerens - AZ Alkmaar
Genki Haraguchi - Urawa Red Diamonds
Salomon Kalou - LOSC Lille
Julian Schieber - Borussia Dortmund

OUTS:

Levan Kobiashvili - Retired
Maik Franz - Released
Peer Kluge - Arminia Bielefeld
Fabian Holland - Darmstadt LOAN
Sami Allagui - Mainz LOAN
Ben Sahar - Willem II
Pierre Michel Lasogga - Hamburg
Adrian Ramos - Borussia Dortmund

By no means a cheap summer, but the €20m+ they garnered from the sales of Ramos and Lasogga in particular has went a long way in improving the side. It's a window that certainly can be viewed as a success in the eyes of officials and supporters of Hertha Berlin.