Schalke: Rabbi Matondo rumors a ringing endorsement

Rabbi Matond has not yet hit the heights at Schalke, but Manchester United’s supposed interest in him is an endorsement of what’s to come.

When Schalke nabbed Rabbi Matondo from Manchester City, the hype train officially left the station. Manchester City has a knack for letting youngsters slip through their grasp because of being too stacked at the senior level and Schalke has a knack for finding those exact kinds of talents to power their club.

Adding a third party to that equation, Manchester United has a knack for spending a lot of money to ensure that they get the exact player that they want and, if they can’t get their hands on Jadon Sancho as planned, their next choice is apparently Rabbi Matondo.

All this to say that a lot of things are in motion here to ensure that Rabbi Matondo is still the exact player that we thought he was, even if he hasn’t been able to put it all together just yet. That time is coming, and Manchester United agree with us.

Rabbi Matondo exit rumors endearing to Schalke

Rabbi Matondo has had a lot of opportunities to prove himself for Die Knappen in his waning teenage years and thus far, we’ve seen a lot that we can hang a hat on—he’s fast as can be, he’s got excellent ball control, he has no trouble circumnavigation a defense.

He just struggles with that final ball.

It’s a common problem for youngsters. When the pressure mounts the most, the quality slips through their grasp. But the good thing about gaining composure for that final ball—whether a shot or a deadly chance—is that it is an acquired talent. Very rarely do you see a youngster who is clinical in and around the box. It’s a rarity that comes around a few times a generation and ours happens to bear witness to a select few, of which we can count Jadon Sancho and Kylian Mbappe among.

Rabbi Matondo has not ascended to that level yet, but at the ripe old age of 19, he has plenty of time to do so and, if it needs to be said, it would be silly to let United take all the glory of his ascension when the Royal Blues were the ones to spring him his first chance.

Thankfully, Schalke won’t be in any hurry to offload him. There’s too much yet to see. So we can just appreciate this for what it is—a ringing endorsement of what’s to come.