The fact that FC Schalke 04 became champions of the 2nd Bundesliga was not least due to the strong winter signings of the Royal Blues. In addition to Edin Dzeko, Adil Aouchiche and Moussa Ndiaye, Dejan Ljubicic also hit the mark. Now Knappen captain Kenan Karaman has revealed about the Austrian.
FC Schalke only transferred 750,000 euros to Dinamo Zagreb in the winter to release Dejan Ljubicic from his contract with the top Croatian club. A real bargain for the Gelsenkirchen team, who gained a strong midfielder with a lot of Bundesliga experience.
Ljubicic immediately lived up to expectations, quickly became a regular player under S04 coach Miron Muslic and contributed four goals and three assists to their confident promotion.
Team captain Kenan Karaman is full of praise for the 28-year-old, who previously played for 1. FC Köln in Germany for four years.
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“I think it’s great that we signed Dejan. He gave us a lot in the second half of the season. He’s a quality player,” enthused Karaman in the “WAZ”.
Schalke newcomer “a bit introverted”
Ljubicic should also take on responsibility one floor higher at Schalke. The Austrian national player, who played his last international match in 2023 and was only called up for the World Cup, has signed with the traditional club from the Ruhr area until 2028.
Karaman describes the all-rounder as a “very quiet guy” who is “a bit introverted”. “He wants to be left alone,” the Royal Blues captain explained. But: “He’s always at the espresso round in the professional training center and does the barista job there.”
Whether Ljubicic will still hold his regular place in the 2026/2027 season will largely depend on the club’s transfer activities.
Reinforcements will be needed in several positions in the coming weeks in order to be able to keep up in the Bundesliga. However, it is not known how high the miners’ budget is.