FC Schalke keeper Alexander Nubel doesn’t just have his own fate to think about, he has the entire club’s. Surely he’s aware of that by now.
I’ve spent way too much time talking about FC Schalke‘s inability to retain players. So I won’t talk much about it here, at least not beyond how it immediately relates to the position of power that 23-year-old keeper Alexander Nubel currently finds himself in.
Having been made captain by the club, I have to imagine that it was communicated fairly early and effectively what was riding on his decision of where to play football next, so I also have to imagine that he understands the situation that he is in, and what he has the power to do by declaring himself for FC Schalke for the long-term.
Die Knappen currently sit within striking distance of the Bundesliga title. It’s an open race this year, and one of the teams that is continuing to find themselves is our Royal Blues. Even with some key injuries, David Wagner has found a combination that is getting the job done and the next step is to sustain this kind of position for the long-term.
That’s hard to do with players abandoning ship for bigger stages, like Nubel is currently flirting with.
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- Schalke 04: David Wagner just has to make it to the end of the season
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Still, after seeing Nubel make so many incredible saves against Union Berlin, it has to be said that he is a world class keeper in the making, if he isn’t one already. He has saved so many points for his side and is one of the reasons why they are in such positive standing thus far into the season.
Spending his prime years at Schalke would be a declaration at the Royal Blues are here to stay. They’ve passed through the dark, Bosman days, and are ready to start keeping hold of their talent and sticking in for then long haul.
Nubel can make that statement for the club all by himself. Literally, all by himself.
Or he can pass it off to the next guy, maybe Amine Harit, and run off to Bayern Munich or Tottenham Hotspur and leave Schalke where they’ve been for the past few years—trying to keep enough pieces in place to remain relevant.
This club has the talent in the here and now to build up from this firm foundation. But it would be a tremendous blow to that foundation if Nubel takes the money and goes somewhere else.