FC Schalke: Go ahead and get excited about Nick Taitague

FC Schalke have a pretty good track record with American talent, and Nick Taitague looks to follow that trend. That time is getting closer.

FC Schalke have officially moved attack Nick Taitague into the first team for winter training camp, which moves the 20-year-old one step closer to making an impact on the big stage. The young American has been racing up the Schalke system since he joined at the age of 18, and I’m here to tell you it’s okay to be a little excited about this.

Call if Weston McKennie fever if you want, but any time FC Schalke announce anything good about young American talent, I pay attention. And you should too. For years, the American player pool has been underrated because, well, Americans don’t play soccer.

Only recently have we begun to see more Americans pop up to the point that they aren’t a novelty anymore. Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie highlight the pack, but there are many more dotting the Bundesliga landscape—Tyler Adams and Josh Sargent, for instance.

Nick Taitague has been heralded as another talented young American who also just so happens to be in line to ply his trade in the Bundesliga, with his apartment mate Weston McKennie in Gelsenkirchen.

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• Schalke 04: David Wagner just has to make it to the end of the season
• Schalke 04: At least we still have Weston McKennie

Taitague has a strong track record when he gets game time. His big breakout year came in 2017/18 when he notched four goals and five assists in 20 appearances for Schalke’s U20s. He’s since been promoted to Schalke II, where he’s been limited in his playing time, but still has eyes on making this first team inclusion a regular thing.

FC Schalke are going to need attacking players. With Steven Skrzybski and Mark Uth already leaving the club on loan and Daniel Caligiui likely moving on at the end of the year, opening will be coming in the plenty. Amine Harit and Michael Gregoritsch may be the future of the attack, but that doesn’t completely cover all of our creative needs. Meaning that there is opportunity for Taitague—or Levant Mercan, or or Janis Grinbergs.

I only focus on Taitague because I love the allure of another American tearing it up in Europe. Call me biased if you want.

The point is, we know what Schalke can do in the youth production department. We know the kinds of talent they develop. Nothing is a guarantee (Haji Wright…) but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited about another one.