FC Schalke must not loan out Ahmed Kutucu

FC Schalke 04 youngster Ahmed Kutucu has impressed fans whenever he’s been given minutes, and it would be a mistake if the club were to loan the Turkish international to another Bundesliga side.

David Wagner has decided to take the “patient” approach with young striker Ahmed Kutucu, who first burst onto the season as an exciting striker when he made his debut for FC Schalke 04 last season. Kutucu and Breel Embolo, who has since moved onto league leaders Borussia Monchengladbach, were the loan bright spots in attack for Schalke, and the Royal Blues have remained subpar offensively in 2019-2020.

Despite Guido Burgstaller‘s struggles in front of goal and inconsistency from Rabbi Matondo and Benito Raman, Schalke have yet to give Kutucu any real opportunity to grab a starting job. Kutucu’s hard work off the ball, advanced movement for his young age, incisiveness, and pace on the ball have made him an intriguing prospect and one of the Bundesliga’s best young forwards, but he has only received 130 minutes from seven substitute appearances this season.

That’s hardly much of an opportunity for Kutucu, even though the 19-year-old has outplayed Matondo, Burgstaller, and Raman for much of the season. Being patient with young players is important, but it may be counterproductive in Schalke’s case, since he’s a talented player at a position of need.

There are now rumors that Fortuna Dusseldorf and SC Freiburg, who are competing with Schalke for a Champions League spot this season, are interested in acquiring Kutucu on loan.

While loan interest in Kutucu doesn’t necessarily mean that the club will send him off for a season or two, even entertaining the idea of loaning out Kutucu would be ridiculous. He should be a part of the rotation and a possible starter, and players who can immediately contribute to a team should not be loaned out.

However, Schalke have frustratingly been overly cautious with playing the 19-year-old, who clearly needs minutes to progress into fulfilling his world-class potential at striker. If Kutucu cannot get those minutes at Schalke behind the ever-disappointing Mark Uth, Matondo, Burgstaller, and Raman, then he may seek a loan to prove himself elsewhere.

Loaning Kutucu to another Bundesliga club could be a sure way to get burned, especially if it’s too a competitive side like Freiburg, who could complete their unlikely run to the Champions League by acquiring someone as talented as Kutucu at the winter transfer window.

Schalke should not loan Kutucu to any team. If anything, the rumored interest from Freiburg and rivals Fortuna should make Wagner and the club more interested in giving the young striker playing time. He has so much to offer the Royal Blues both in the future and in the present, and it’s time for the team to take advantage of his skill-set in a striker partnership with Matondo, Raman, or both in a rotation.