FC Schalke: Michael Gregoritsch a grand undertaking

FC Schalke have landed Michael Gregoritsch on a loan until the end of the season, and while it may seem trivial, this is a big deal worth investing in.

FC Schalke have wasted no time securing their first deal of the winter break, even though it’s only a half-season loan. Michael Gregoritsch has joined the club until the end of the year, and while there is no option to buy, Gregoritsch was nearly dealt to Werder Bremen over the summer before the deal fell through, so opportunity is there for a longer partnership.

And what a partnership this could shape up to be, if everything goes according to plan. With David Wagner so conclusively in charge and a growing attack, Gregoritsch could be a necessary piece to more the club one more step forward.

Michael Gregoritsch hit some heights in the Bundesliga. Once a top prospect, he’s since stalled a bit at FC Augsburg, but a good changing of the scenery could be all that’s needed to shake loose all that talent that’s been hiding in him.

Schalke’s attack has been coming around lately, but there’s no ignoring that a little extra help could work wonders. There’s still a lot of reliance on Amine Harit and Suat Serdar, while improving, is still needing time to prove his consistency.

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Enter Michael Gregoritsch.

When you stack up the numbers, Gregoritsch has proven himself an ample goal producer in the Bundesliga. In 8,065 minutes across Augsburg and Hamburger, he has created 40 goals, putting him at 201 minutes between goal contributions.

For teams that aren’t exactly at the top of the league, that’s a fantastic showing.

Compare it to Amine Harit’s clip of 200 minutes between goal contributions. Harit is our superstar. He’s the guy. So the fact that Michael Gregoritsch can match Harit’s numbers, even when he’s been so up and down in the league, is a testament to what he’s capable of doing.

Gregoritsch is primarily a goal scorer, as 29 of his 40 goal contributions have been goals coming off his own foot, but the capacity for creation is there, and put in a budding set-up like Schalke have going, the possibility is pretty exciting. And with half a season to play with, Gregoritsch will show us if he is the guy we need to take that next step.

Not just that, but a little alleviation on our Harit reliance would be a welcome change. Even if he is a much different player than Harit, their objective is the same—goals.