The Bundesliga relegated FC Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC have to equip their squads for the coming second division season. Now both clubs are probably after the same player on the transfer market.
Just recently, the “kicker” announced FC Schalke 04’s supposed interest in bringing Steven Skrzybski back. Now the trade journal is following suit: Hertha BSC should also try to get the striker from Holstein Kiel.
Skrzybski switched from 1. FC Union Berlin to FC Schalke 04 in 2018 for just over three million euros. In 2020, the striker left the Knappen after a total of 32 competitive games (four goals and five assists) initially on loan towards Fortuna Düsseldorf, followed by a free transfer to Kiel in 2021. The 30-year-old’s contract with the North Germans has been dated until 2024.
While Skrzybski also had start-up problems in Düsseldorf, he started with the storks. Last season he impressed with 15 goals and seven assists in 34 games. Those values catapulted him to fifth place in the scorer ranking for the 2022/23 season.
Competition at FC Schalke 04 is getting bigger
Despite the interest from Gelsenkirchen and Berlin, there is hope in northern Germany that the attacker will fulfill his contract. Kiel trainer Marcel Rapp told the trade journal: “Steven still has a contract with us until 2024. I firmly assume that he will be on the mat at the start on Monday.”
As sports director Uwe Stöver also clarified, “neither an inquiry nor a concrete offer has landed on the table” from Kiel.
For the attack, FC Schalke 04 meanwhile only signed another player on Monday. Frenchman Bryan Lasme joins the Knappen after two years at Arminia Bielefeld, where he signed a contract until 2027.
Simon Terodde, who is staying at S04 after the initial announcement of a change, is already romping around at Schalke, along with Sebastian Polter and returnee Marvin Pieringer in attack. The competition at the Revierklub is getting bigger and bigger