FC Schalke supposedly have little chance of securing Jonjoe Kenny for the long term, but a contingency plan could already be in place.
Jonjoe Kenny has been an incredible presence for FC Schalke this year. Combining with Bastian Oczipka across the pitch, there has been all of nothing to worry about from the fullbacks. They could be counted on to lock down their defensive duties and provide plenty of support for the attack moving forward.
But a byproduct of our dear Jonjoe Kenny doing so well is that the whole world sees that he is doing so well, and included in the whole world is Everton, Kenny’s parent club, who Schalke would have to purchase him from, if at all possible.
Schalke and Kenny have both spoken about a long-term deal, with Die Knappen overtly in favor of it and Kenny open to anything. But now, as the season presses on, reports indicate that Kenny’s price tag may prove too much for the Blues to handle.
Which means that we can’t waste any time in thinking up a solution. If Kenny were to leave, where would that leave Schalke?
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Honestly, with just a few key pieces needed to bolster this team’s Champions League prospects, I would hate to see precious capital spent on right back. We need to focus on developing this attack and maybe a little extra help in the midfield. Not much, but enough to give a final push.
Rightback really isn’t going to stand out as a high priority. Thankfully, it might not have to.
As we saw recently, Timo Becker was asked to play rightback in the wake of Kenny’s injury. He wasn’t perfect, but for his first start at Schalke, it was promising. He showed tremendous speed, a good deal of maturity, and give him time to iron out the nerves and he could prove himself every bit as capable as we need him to be.
Becker and Kenny were born just ten days apart, and this just adds to the fact that Becker will inevitably be compared to Kenny every time he takes the pitch. But remember, what makes Kenny so great is the consistency. He doesn’t blow the doors off of anything. He just does his job.
If Timo Becker can just do his job, maybe we do decide to extend Daniel Caligiuri to be a secondary option, and we will be fine. Nothing to see here.