Schalke: Get it over with and bet the house on Ahmed Kutucu

Schalke may need a striker to hold that attack together but in the meantime, bet the lot on Ahmed Kutuc, the greatest wild card in the world.

I’ve gone on and on about what Schalke would be like with Arkadiusz Milik to hold this attack together, and anyone like that really. The Klaas Jan Huntelaar model, as I put it. But at the end of the day, this attack has a lot of pieces looking for a planet to orbit, and the best of which may be the one we know the least about—Ahmed Kutucu.

I don’t know if I’ve said this before (that’s a joke, of course I have) but it’s certifiably insane that he has yet to start a match this year. Fabian Reese and Nassim Boujellab have each started more matches than Ahmed Kutucu. Think about that a second.

What’s great about that, though, is that we have this great untapped resource sitting right there in the club, no assembly required. For some, he may still be a wild card of sorts, but in case you haven’t been following the narrative here at Release the Knappen, you can bet the house on Kutucu being something pretty special.

It’s unclear what David Wagner is going to do with this attack—if he’s going to try for a pillar striker to build an attack around, if he’s going to build for speed, if he’s going to focus on the counterattack or some combination of the above.

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

But whichever he opts for, Kutucu is going to have to be a part of it. He’s just too good not to be. Even if we don’t what capacity he’s going to be used in. He’s got the speed to play off the shoulder of a main striker, but he’s also good on the ball, which makes him a dark horse candidate to be the premier striker come next season.

Kutucu’s goal production rate is hard to gauge since he hasn’t been used at all this year, but judging from Benito Raman‘s effectiveness, and the fact that Raman plays similarly to Kutucu, it’s pretty much a sure bet that when Kutucu is called on, he’s going to do the job better than anyone.

As remarkable as it is that Kutucu hasn’t started a match, it leaves the door open for so much amazing stuff to come. I doubt that’s why Wagner hasn’t started Kutucu, but it’s an unintended side effect, and a nice one at that.

Pretty remarkable, really. And even if Schalke don’t drop wads of cash on a new striker, we still have Kutucu to focus on, and that works like a new signing itself.