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FC Schalke: Does Mourinho have eyes on Alexander Nubel?

By Kevin Parvizi

MONCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: Alexander Nubel of Schalke 04 during the German Bundesliga match between Borussia Monchengladbach v Schalke 04 at the Borussia Park on August 17, 2019 in Monchengladbach Germany (Photo by Angelo Blankespoor/Soccrates/Getty Images)
MONCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: Alexander Nubel of Schalke 04 during the German Bundesliga match between Borussia Monchengladbach v Schalke 04 at the Borussia Park on August 17, 2019 in Monchengladbach Germany (Photo by Angelo Blankespoor/Soccrates/Getty Images) /
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FC Schalke 04 goalkeeper Alexander Nubel is one of the best young players at the position, so, naturally, many top clubs will want to pursue him as a free agent.

As FC Schalke 04 continue to negotiate with Alexander Nubel in the hopes that they can convince the captain to remain in Gelsenkirchen, other teams around Europe will begin to circle with interest in the 23-year-old goalkeeper.

Nubel has enjoyed a strong start to the 2019-2020 Bundesliga campaign as an encore to his breakout 2018-2019. He is right there with Manuel Neuer, Peter Gulasci, and Yann Sommer as one of the Bundesliga’s best keepers, and he’s already made a string of highlight-reel saves this season for the top-five Knappen.

But Nubel is on an expiring contract, which means top clubs around Europe will want to get their hands on the future Germany starter. Bayern are undoubtedly the favorites among the teams outside Gelsenkirchen, but it looks like a Premier League powerhouse has interest in Nubel.

Tottenham have a new manager in Jose Mourinho, who should strongly consider getting a younger and better keeper than Hugo Lloris.

Nubel would fulfill both requirements, and he has the reflexes, positional awareness, and athleticism to become the world’s best keeper one day. The comparisons to Neuer are natural, given that Nubel is a star at Schalke who can also operate as a sweeper-keeper. At this stage of their careers, Nubel is significantly better in this more demanding role.

Schalke will do whatever they can to hold onto Nubel, and they are already in a bidding war with Bayern over who will be able to spend the most on the player’s salary. In the summer, it looked like Bayern would end up landing Nubel on a contract for 2020-2021, but it looks like the Royal Blues have bridged that gap since.

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Interest from the Premier League will make things more difficult, especially with a manager of Mourinho’s caliber potentially involved. Still, it’s hard to see Nubel leaving Germany, and if it comes down to Schalke or Bayern, the Men in Blue could have an upperhand now that they are excelling with Nubel as captain.