Schalke: One exciting transfer target from each Bundesliga II team
By Josh Sippie
SV Sandhausen
The only guy on this list that doesn’t play a position of imminent need, Leart Paqarada‘s abilities as a leftback are still worthy of being the internal competition to Bastian Oczipka that Juan Miranda was unable to provide. Conveniently, Paqarada doubles as a left wingback if David Wagner goes forward with the back three.
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He’s got a promising goal-producing resume despite being just 25-years old, and his complete lack of an injury history makes him an intriguing complement to the ever-reliable Oczipka.
Part of what makes Oczipka so great is his delivery. It’s pinpoint and it leads to so many chances if we give him the right targets to aim for. Paqarada doubles up on that. He’s in the midst of his best creative year, as he’s managing 3.1 chances created per match (that’s across 2000 minutes, so no small sample size) and adding 3.8 crosses. Both are over twice what he’s historically given, but he seems to be catching fire just in time to make a move up to Schalke.
And Paqarada doesn’t slack off on the defensive side of the ball either. He’s great in both regards—closing down opposing attackers and reading play. You can’t ask for much more from a leftback than what Paqarada provides. He could be perfect to take the Oczipka throne.
Next stop, St. Pauli.