FC Schalke: Clearing dead weight clearly a needed step

The transfer window is officially open, and FC Schalke’s first moves may be exits rather than entrances. Which is definitely needed.

FC Schalke are in a place as a club where they need to take some steps forward. They’ve been struggling with maintaining consistency over the years, with too many players leaving and the players they keep hold of rarely being of the caliber to keep them in the Champions League where they belong.

This year, they took a huge step forward by locking down Amine Harit to a new deal. The young playmaker is the first prolific Schalke player in ages to commit himself to the club, and with someone like David Wagner in charge, it’s time to take the steps towards permanent growth.

That involves clearing out some of the players that aren’t benefitting the club, so that new players, who will benefit the club, can move in.

And it looks like Die Knappen got the memo.

With the January transfer window now open, the biggest links for Schalke, other than the arrival of Michael Gregoritsch on loan (which is exciting in its own right), are exits. And exits that make sense if the club wants to continue this forward trajectory.

More from Release The Knappen

• Schalke 04: Arkadiusz Milik would take everything, but he’s worth it
• Schalke 04: Ozan Kabak makes Jean-Claire Todibo pass quietly
• Schalke 04: Omar Mascarell the only boost between now and then
• Schalke 04: David Wagner just has to make it to the end of the season
• Schalke 04: At least we still have Weston McKennie

The biggest link is Mark Uth leaving the club after what ended up being a failed spell at the Veltins. Uth was supposed to be the solution to Guido Burgstaller’s incompleteness as a striker, but all that ended up happening is we were stuck with two guys that couldn’t be counted on.

Benito Raman and Ahmed Kutucu are here to be the solutions, and they are proving to be that already. Waste no time, start clearing the path.

The other exit link is a loan move for Steven Skrzybski.

Skrzybski falls in the same camp as Mark Uth. Someone who had all the signs that points towards success (as in 14 goals and four assists in his last year at Union Berlin) only for it to translate to next to nothing for the Blues.

He played just 750 combined minutes last year, amounting to three goals and an assist. But the simple truth is that with Harit locking in, Suat Serdar coming to fruition and now Gregoritsch coming in, the already slim likelihood of Skrzybski finding playing time was slim to none.

They may not be exciting steps, but they’re necessary. They pave the way for bigger and better things.