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FC Schalke: 3 players who must step up in Weston McKennie’s absence

By Josh Sippie

15 December 2019, North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen: Soccer: Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 - Eintracht Frankfurt, 15th matchday in the Veltins Arena. Schalkes Weston McKennie lies on the grass after a duel with Frankfurt's Dost. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the requirements of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga or the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to use or have used photographs taken in the stadium and/or the match in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo sequences. (Photo by Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images)
15 December 2019, North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen: Soccer: Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 - Eintracht Frankfurt, 15th matchday in the Veltins Arena. Schalkes Weston McKennie lies on the grass after a duel with Frankfurt's Dost. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the requirements of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga or the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to use or have used photographs taken in the stadium and/or the match in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo sequences. (Photo by Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images) /
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FC Schalke, Suat Serdar
(Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

2. Suat Serdar

I was very, very pleasantly surprised by Suat Serdar’s performance against Eintracht Frankfurt. He doesn’t often get to play in his preferred central midfield role. Often times he’s shoe-horned into a winger or wide midfield role, where his influence ebbs and flows. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so much.

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With McKennie down for the count, Serdar is going to be given free reign in the center of the midfield next to Omar Mascarell, and we’re going to need him to erase that “ebb and flow” portion of his influence and find a bit more sturdiness. It’s been one of my main concerns with him throughout the last couple matchdays, but seeing how well he did against Frankfurt gave me hope that a prolonged run in the center of the midfield will be exactly what’s needed to keep that impact and presence as high as it can possibly be.

Serdar is such a weapon for FC Schalke, and what he does in McKennie’s absence is going to be far more influential than what Mascarell does, just because he has always been much more of a wild card.

That said, Serdar is never lacking in the enthusiasm department and, like McKennie, he always has ideas. That’s going to be a nice thing to count on.

Onwards to No. 1.