United States international Julian Green reiterated that the German fourth-division was not where he belonged, while adding he's confident he'll prove himself given the opportunity to play at the club and national team level.
"When you are coming back from an injury or have not been on the pitch for 90 minutes over a period of weeks, a match with the U-23s can be helpful," Green said in an interview with The Guardian. "But fourth division is not a solution for me and it will not get me anywhere."
The 20-year-old spent the season on loan from Bayern Munich at Hamburg, where he made just five Bundesliga appearances under four different managers for a club that barely avoided relegation to Germany's second tier.
Yet he said he was hopeful he would see more playing time in the near future.
"Just like at the World Cup, when I get the chance to play, I will prove that," he said.
Jurgen Klinsmann left Green off the U.S. national team's squad at next month's CONCACAF Gold Cup, saying that Green needs a break. Green also missed the U23 match between the U.S. and Mexico this past April after new Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia gave Green permission to play a few hours too late, according to U.S. assistant coach Andi Herzog.
Green's father, Jerry, said that Klinsmann was clear about wanting Green to get playing time.
"Klinsmann still has every confidence in Julian, he supports Julian, that's not an issue," Jerry Green told The Guardian. "But his philosophy is that players need to be in what he calls game shape. It's the difference between being in shape because you practice every day and being in shape because you've been playing games. Julian is unquestionably in physical shape, but he's not in what Jurgen looks at as match shape."
Kicker reported earlier this year that a decision about Green's future will be made after talks between the sporting director and agent Roman Grill.
Green was a controversial selection to Klinsmann's squad for last summer's World Cup. But while the German-American, who had only played a handful of minutes for club team Bayern Munich during the 2013-14 season, scored a memorable goal in extra time of the Americans' round of 16 loss to Belgium in his lone appearance, 2014-15 was a step backward for the youngster.