Schalke 04: Ozan Kabak makes Jean-Claire Todibo pass quietly

Schalke 04 will officially be seeing Jean-Claire Todibo leaving the club, but thanks to Ozan Kabak, we don’t need to worry too much about this at all.

We all saw this coming, but now it’s pretty much official—Schalke 04 has let the purchase option pass on Jean-Clair Todibo slip by them, meaning that they no longer have dibs on the Barcelona product. And with clubs like Everton, who has a much better financial prospectus than the Royal Blues, ready to poach, it seems all but certain that Todibo will not be at the Veltins next year.

Which, honestly, doesn’t sting as badly as it might have. And that is almost entirely due to the fact that Ozan Kabak is already here and already better.

When you think about why Todibo was even here in the first place, it was because Die Knappen were in one hell of a defensive predicament. Stambouli and Sane were supposed to be out for the year, Nastasic is always on and off of the injury list, and even Kabak had faced an injury.

Schalke 04 have Kabak, forget Todibo

We needed Todibo in the moment and he showcased his talent while the going was good, but even lately, with the team struggling, he’s struggled too.

His similarities to Kabak made him particularly exciting, as he was capable of carrying the ball like a midfielder but covering his tracks like a class centerback. But it’s those similarities to Todibo that also makes this whole process of losing him so much easier. Because we’re not losing anything we don’t already have.

Sure, it’d be nice to have two excellent young prospects to get excited about, but with players like Malick Thiaw on the rise, and more amazing young Knappenschmiede products yet to come, there is always something to be excited about.

In the present, with Salif Sane back to health and back to his best, Nastasic one of the most underrated defenders around and Kabak, this defense is in a tremendous place to pick up in a better place than they are next this year, when they’ve recollected themselves for next year.

Kabak is one of the best young defenders in all of Europe. So I honestly don’t care all that much who we lose, as long as we keep hold of him. And right now, there looks to be no threat of losing him. All the while his transfer value continues to multiply.