Schalke: 4 dream forward targets for the Royal Blues

Mariano Diaz

Real Madrid will almost certainly let Mariano Diaz go this summer after he resisted a loan move in the summer of 2019. Mariano wanted to fight for his place in the team, but he almost never played, getting precious few minutes in the Spanish Supercup.

He did, however, finally make an appearance in La Liga near the end of the campaign, scoring within seconds of his inclusion to seal a 2-0 win for Los Merengues in El Clasico. Mariano’s solo goal led to speculation that he could steal some playing time from the struggling Karim Benzema and quiet Luka Jovic, but then the season was suspended.

Mariano showed that he’s far too good to sit on the bench in Madrid, and even though he wants to star for Los Blancos, it’s highly unlikely. Real will probably want to sell him outright in order to clear space for a top addition, such as Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.

As such, Mariano could be available for Schalke, and he’d probably be cheaper than either Milot Rashica or Arkadiusz Milik.

But even though Mariano will be 27 when the season starts, he’s had little wear-and-tear over the last season. He’s a star striker in his prime who could be a breakout player in the Bundesliga, especially if he got the opportunity to link up with Amine Harit and Suat Serdar in the stellar Schalke midfield.