Schalke: Omar Mascarell just another uncovered gem

Schalke’s season is going all over the place, but through it all, we’ve uncovered some serious gems, and Omar Mascarel is just another such case.

Getting better takes time. And getting consistently better, to the point where every year you’re expected to finish in a European League spot, is an even more time-consuming manner. That’s where Schalke currently is, finding their place back to where they ought to be. And when you see players like Omar Mascarell popping up, you know here headed in the right direction.

Schalke can’t seem to win a game to save their lives right now. Even when they do score a goal, they give one back and can’t score two.

But throughout the course of this season, Die Knappen have turned up some serious gems. Gems that, if all were healthy, would be powering this team to a whole new level. And gems that, with the right infusion elsewhere in the club (striker, please) can shine even more.

Ozan Kabak is one such gem. Out of nowhere, we have a tremendous defender who is built to anchor now and for the long-haul.

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

Suat Serdar is another. Literally out of nowhere, we have a midfielder who is so much more than a box-to-box threat, he is out top goal scorer with a fraction of the minutes played. He is tremendously well-suited carry the midfield for the long-haul, we just have to keep hold of him.

And then there is Omar Mascarell. The captain that always should have been and finally is. Mascarell spent last year on loan and hadn’t had much to his name aside from some good showings at Eintracht Frankfurt. Yet here he is, our anchor. The one guy that we can have faith in every single match to do his job and hold down the fort.

Schalke have had a knack for turning up gems over the years and Mascarell is just another. The task now becomes not just uncovering these gems, but polishing them and not selling them. Or worse, not letting them go for free. With guys like Mascarell, and Kabak, and Serdar, you can start building the kind of side that competes for things.

But again, it all starts now. It all starts with keeping what’s reliable and building more reliability out from that. Omar Mascarell is a great foundation to build off of.