Second division leaders Schalke 04 have signed midfielder Adil Aouchiche. As the Royal Blues announced on Monday evening, the 23-year-old Frenchman is coming to Gelsenkirchen from AFC Sunderland and has signed a contract until 2027.
Aouchiche was most recently loaned out to Scottish first division club FC Aberdeen. “Adil fits very well into our philosophy with his intensity and game intelligence. As a box-to-box player, he will be an exciting option for our game, with strong physicality, high running work and good dynamics in the first few meters,” said Youri Mulder, director of professional football at Schalke.
Aouchiche brings a lot of experience from the French Ligue 1 and English Championship; he was trained in the youth ranks of Paris Saint-Germain. He played a total of 48 international matches for the French junior national teams, scoring 21 goals.
This season he played in 30 competitive games for Aberdeen. “We have a lot of plans and I want to do my part to ensure that we have a successful second half of the season,” said Aouchiche.
After goalkeeper Kevin Müller, star striker Edin Dzeko and Dejan Ljubicic, Aouchiche is Schalke’s fourth winter signing.
Mauro Zalazar was also loaned out to SC Braga until the end of the season. The midfielder, who hardly got a chance at Schalke, will meet his brother Rodrigo, one of Schalke’s promotion heroes in 2022.
