For a long time, Thomas Ouwejan was considered a top performer at FC Schalke 04 and was a fixture at the Royal Blues as a left-back. But that has been a thing of the past for a few weeks now, since S04 head coach Karel Geraerts relied on Derry Murkin on the left side of defense several times. A situation that Ouwejan says leaves him frustrated.
Since the unsuccessful start of the second half of the season at home against HSV (0-2), when Thomas Ouwejan almost scored his first goal of the season and only missed the goal post, the 27-year-old has been waiting in vain for another chance to prove himself in the S04 starting line-up .
Against Kaiserslautern (1:4) and Braunschweig, the Dutchman languished on the bench for the full 90 minutes, and in the 0:1 loss in Kiel he was substituted on at least in the second half.
“It’s frustrating, of course. I always want to play,” Ouwejan was quoted as saying in the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. The role of substitute player is still unknown for the left-footed player, as he was one of the top performers at FC Schalke two years ago in Schalke’s promotion season.
In the 2022/2023 Bundesliga season he was set back by two serious injuries and therefore only made ten starting eleven appearances in the first division.
Ouwejan firmly believes that FC Schalke 04 will stay in the league
But Ouwejan certainly doesn’t see himself as a reservist in the 2nd Bundesliga, even if he recently expressed himself in a sporty, diplomatic way: “That’s part of football, I have to be able to deal with it.”
According to “WAZ” information, there are increasing signs that Ouwejan will leave FC Schalke 04 for free next summer. Regardless of whether the Gelsenkirchen team stays in the second league or not. As things stand, there have been no contract talks with the Royal Blues or any other club, it said.
Meanwhile, Ouwejan remains convinced that his current club will stay in the second division: “We know that we have to be careful. Nevertheless, I have confidence that we will manage to stay in the league.”