Schalke: 5 biggest takeaways from the 2019-2020 season so far

The 2019-2020 Bundesliga season has been postponed, so let’s take some time to look at the biggest takeaways for FC Schalke 04.

When the 2019-2020 Bundesliga season was suspended, FC Schalke 04 sat sixth in the table with a negative goal differential and 12 points separating them from the top four.

While that represents a slip in form from when Schalke were competing for the Bundesliga title at mid-season, they have made significant improvements from their disastrous 2018-2019 campaign when they briefly flirted with the relegation battle.

The Royal Blues are on the upswing under David Wagner, and with some time to reflect on their current standing as an organization, here are the five biggest takeaways from the 2019-2020 season thus far.

1. The league’s best center backs

Schalke have an enviable amount of talent at the center back position, and I cannot think of a team that has it better than they do. RB Leipzig have the best trio in Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano, and Willi Orban, but the Royal Blues’ center backs are beyond a trio.

Before his injury, Salif Sane was regarded as one of the Bundesliga’s best center backs, and veteran partner Benjamin Stambouli wasn’t far behind him. After both men went down, Ozan Kabak established himself as the best player at the position in the league, providing expert passes and plenty of interceptions.

Die Knappen also received valuable contributions from Matija Nastasic, who was a wall defensively. Attackers could scarcely dribble past him. And after Kabak went down, another young center back, loan signing Jean-Clair Todibo, emerged as another future superstar.

Throw in promising prospect Malick Thiaw, who is already drawing interest from the Premier League’s biggest clubs, and Schalke are legitimately six-deep at the center back position. Find that level of quality elsewhere in the Bundesliga. I dare you.