FC Schalke 04 is taking big steps towards direct promotion. Planning for the coming season is already in full swing – the Knappen face a major upheaval when they return to the Bundesliga.
As the “Sport Bild” reports, only four players have their regular place in a promotion: defensive jewel Malick Thiaw, left-back Thomas Ouwejan, all-rounder Ko Itakura and creative player Rodrigo Zalazar.
Thiaw and Zalazar’s contracts at Schalke will run until 2024 and 2026, respectively.
For Ouwejan, who is on loan from AZ Alkmaar, and Itakura, who is actually under contract with Manchester City, the Royal Blues would have to pull the purchase options. Ouwejans is at two million euros, Itakuras at 5.5 million euros.
According to the report, FC Schalke 04 wants to improve on the other seven positions. Even top striker Simon Terodde would probably not have his regular place in the Bundesliga.
The 34-year-old hasn’t really been able to shine in the German upper house. If he is in the second division with 164 goals in 278 games, he only has ten goals in 58 appearances in the top floor. Therefore, a new striker is said to be coming.
Schalke also sees a need for action in the goal. According to the report, Martin Fraisl is “not a first-class number 1”, Ralf Fährmann is no longer believed to be the regular keeper.
Financial bottleneck for FC Schalke 04
There could also be numerous changes in midfield. Captain Danny Latza, Dominick Drexler, Victor Pálsson, Blendi Idrizi and Florian Flick are interchangeable.
Financially, however, Schalke’s hands are once again tied. In the event of an increase, the budget would increase from 20 to 35 to 40 million euros. However, it is still a long way from the 80 million euros that the Royal Blues had at their disposal in the relegation season.