Schalke may have to get crafty this coming transfer window, so here’s one exciting player from each Bundesliga II team to target for next season.
There’s been a lot of talk about the financial restraints facing Schalke this upcoming transfer window. And with Alexander Nubel, Daniel Caligiuri, and Benjamin Stambouli all walking for free, it’s unlikely we’ll see much influx in terms of sales.
David Wagner has already spoken about how he doubted his club would have the financial capabilities to keep Jonjoe Kenny if Everton demanded what they were expected to demand, and the same goes with Jean-Clair Todibo and Barcelona. It’s just not easy to see a lot of funds being made available.
All this means is that Schalke will have to do their usual thing and get crafty. They’ve been doing it for years, and while they may have room for maybe one big signing (make it Arkadiusz Milik!) they will have to dig under some cheaper rocks to find other potential solutions.
So let’s explore Bundesliga II and find one potential solution on each of the 18 clubs down there. We start with Erzgebirge Aue.
Erzgebirge Aue
Erzgebirge Aue is a rather old team in terms of average age and, I don’t know about you, but I’m not really in the market for Schalke to get any older. They thrive on raising young players and helping them grow into stars.
With that in mind, I’ll point my attention to 21-year-old striker Florian Krüger.
In the same mold as Ahmed Kutucu, it looks like Kruger just needs a chance. He’s got four goals and four assists despite the majority of his appearance coming as a substitute. While he isn’t the target man striker that Schalke need, in the likely scenario that we lose Guido Burgstaller, Mark Uth, and Michael Gregoritsch, we are going to need more striker options and Kruger could be an excellent candidate.
And that’s not even taking into account how he can double as a winger. He may score goals, but he’s a creator too.
Next up, table toppers (and Schalke DFB-Pokal victims) Arminia Bielefeld.