Hany Mukhtar: Why Hertha Berlin Undersold German Wonderkid to Benfica

German central/right-attacking midfielder Hany Mukhtar, 19, forced Hertha Berlin's hand into selling him to Benfica for €500,000/£381,677.

It is a nominal fee for Mukhtar, an elite youngster, so what is the story behind Hertha Berlin underselling him to Benfica?

Last August, Mukhtar was not involved in Hertha Berlin's 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen. 

Though, he accumulated five assists in Hertha Berlin II's 6-0 win over Auerbach.

Hertha Berlin manager Jos Luhukay was adamant in using Valentin Stocker, Ronny, Roy Beerens and/or Anis Ben-Hatira in either advanced central or right-sided roles.

Instead of featuring in the Bundesliga, Mukhtar was starring in the Regionalliga Nordost, the German fourth division.

Mukhtar, who was selected in the 2014 UEFA European U19 Championship Team of the Tournament, was not even getting a look in at Hertha Berlin.

There was something amiss.

"It's difficult to play young players like Hany when the structure is missing," Luhukay said, per Andreas Hunzinger and Steffen Rohr at Kicker (h/t Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC). "It's not only about him but also about the overall situation."

The overall situation Luhukay referenced is Hertha Berlin having a three-point buffer on last-placed Freiburg, meaning he is more inclined to go with experience over youth.

In addition, Mukhtar being classified as to be determined due to his unwillingness to commit to Hertha Berlin contributed to his exit.

Fighter was one adjective German youth international Niklas Stark used to describe Mukhtar, per Grega Sever at UEFA.com.

Clinging on to a tunnel-vision view of running down an expiring contract, Mukhtar showed how much of a fighter he was to an exasperated Hertha Berlin general manager, Michael Preetz.

"Hany is naturally frustrated [in playing for Hertha Berlin II] and we are not satisfied with the situation," Preetz said, per Kicker (h/t Jonathan Walsh at Vavel). "Hany would do well to extend at Hertha Berlin. In the winter we would then work together to find a solution for a loan move."

At first glance, Preetz offered an olive branch, but Mukhtar may have looked beneath the surface.

A cynical theory is Hertha Berlin wanted to lock Mukhtar down to a long-term contract, gaining leverage in negotiations with potential suitors, perhaps hoping to emulate the Kevin-Prince Boateng to Tottenham Hotspur transfer, per Raphael Honigstein at The Guardian:

"

€7.8/£6 million for Kevin-Prince Boateng, a player [Hertha Berlin] wanted to get rid of, have made for the club's best financial result in 10 years: a profit of €5/£3.8 million.

"It's a shame Tottenham Hotspur's sporting director [Damien] Comolli is gone now," said Hertha Berlin's finance director Ingo Schiller with a big smile.

"

Mukhtar refused to bow down and presumably didn't want to be a bargaining chip.

Pre-empting Mukhtar exercising his Bosman right to a free transfer at the end of the season, Hertha Berlin sold him to Benfica at a reduced price.

This is not the first time Hertha Berlin have completed a "well, it is better than nothing" transfer of a promising footballer:

Jerome Boateng:

• Hertha Berlin → Hamburg: €1.1 million/£840,000 (2007, 18 years old).
• Hamburg → Manchester City: €12.5 million/£9.5 million (2010, 21 years old).

Christopher Schorch:

• Hertha Berlin → Real Madrid: €800,000/£609,356 (2007; 18 years old).
• Real Madrid → Koln: €1 million/£760,000 (2009; 20 years old).

Schorch has had a journeyman career and Hertha Berlin would be able to live with Benfica making a minimal profit on Mukhtar.

But if he goes on to develop into a world-class footballer, a la J. Boateng, it would be a bitter blow to Hertha Berlin, whose management should have appeased Mukhtar before his unhappiness led to the contract stalemate.

Despite Mukhtar not playing a single minute in the Bundesliga this season, Benfica view the transfer as a bet worth taking.

Bleacher Report's Clark Whitney and FourFourTwo's Alex Chaffer both noted Benfica pulled off a transfer coup signing Mukhtar.

It continues a trend of Benfica speculating on the valuation of cut-priced prospects.

This is the context behind Benfica's buy low, sell high transfer policy.

David Luiz:

• Esporte Clube Vitoria → Benfica: €500,000/£380,847 (2007; 20 years old).
• Benfica → Chelsea: €28/£21.3 million plus Nemanja Matic [1] (2011; 23 years old).

Fabio Coentrao:

• Rio Ave → Benfica: €900,000/£685,525 (2007; 19 years old).
• Benfica → Real Madrid: €30/£22.9 million (2011; 23 years old).

Nemanja Matic:

• Chelsea → Benfica: [1] (2011; 22 years old).
• Benfica → Chelsea: €27.5/£21 million (2014; 25 years old).

Lorenzo Melgarejo:

• Independiente Foot-Ball Club → Benfica: €760,000/£578,888 (2011; 20 years old).
• Benfica → Kuban Krasnodar: €5/£3.8 million (2013; 23 years old).

Rafik Halliche:

• NA Hussein Dey → Benfica: €300,000/£228,508 (2007; 21 years old).
• Benfica → Fulham: €1.7/£1.3 million (2010; 23 years old).

"I know this is a youth title, but it's amazing," Mukhtar said, after he became Germany U19's version of Mario Gotze in the Euro U19 final, per Andrew Haslam at UEFA.com. "It's a great victory, the biggest I've had so far in my life."

Mukhtar can trump that achievement if he experiences an Anderson Talisca-like rise at Benfica, which will leave Hertha Berlin ruing what could have been.

That would be Schadenfreude for Mukhtar, whose progress at Hertha Berlin stalled for five months.

Who is the one monumental barrier Mukhtar needs to overcome to make that scenario a reality? 

Anderson Talisca.

+allanjiang.

When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.

Transfer fees courtesy of Transfermarkt, BBC, UEFA, Telegraph and Daily Mail.