of course injuries to key players have played a role, especially in attack. Jones wasn't eligible on top of injuries, Kutucu injured himself early on. Gudra and Biskup both 01 weren't always available due to fitness/injuries. but Schalke U19 are pretty bad this season that, Jones could be the 1st American at Schalke not to be involved in the U19 Championship run. Top 2 from West qualify 1-Dortmund 12 pts 2-Bochum 12 pts 3-Koln 12 pts 8-Schalke 4 pts that's from 4 games played and half those games they got trashed by Dortmund and Koln.
Zyen Jones played his first minutes since returning from a somewhat lengthy injury in a int'l break friendly. Went 70 minutes. https://t.co/7VdORWDL0T— Daniel (@DanielSmith1022) September 7, 2018
Starting for U19s: Die Start-1️⃣1️⃣ der #U19 in Aachen 👇#schmiede #s04 pic.twitter.com/oIG9R1nHgW— Knappenschmiede (@knappenschmiede) September 15, 2018
looks like he made his 1st XI of the season as he and Kutucu came back from injuries. Schalke U19 won 3-1, although Jones did not score while Kutucu got a brace. Jones played 74 minutes and the other team Aachen were 10 men from the 27th minute to the end.
Starting in Uefa Youth league: Unsere Start-11 im ersten @UEFAYouthLeague-Spiel gg. den @FCPorto. 💪#U19 #schmiede #s04 pic.twitter.com/JCbMJPGwIt— Knappenschmiede (@knappenschmiede) September 18, 2018
Zyen went 55 minutes in a 3-0 loss, though it was 1-0 when he left the field. Typically UEFA Youth League matches are free to watch on Youtube so keep an eye out for their next game.
Starting: Folgende Start-1⃣1⃣ schickt Chef-Trainer Norbert #Elgert gegen den @MSVDuisburg auf den Platz 👇#schmiede #s04 #U19 pic.twitter.com/f2JEmWWGDK— Knappenschmiede (@knappenschmiede) September 23, 2018
Started today, went 83 minutes and SCORED!!!! Schalke U19 fisrt goal as they go on to win 1 - 2 over Dusseldorf U19 in A-Junioren Bundesliga West
Starts in UEFA Youth League: Mit folgender Start-1⃣1⃣ beginnt die #U19 in der @UEFAYouthLeague bei Lokomotive #Moskau. 👇#schmiede #s04 #UYL #SchalkeInternational pic.twitter.com/XnaM5wjaeB— Knappenschmiede (@knappenschmiede) October 3, 2018
Started and had an assist*** 3.| 1:0!!! @Kingzyen setzt sich im Sechzehner durch und #Hempel kann den ersten Treffer erzielen! 🙌 #s04 #schmiede #u19— Knappenschmiede (@knappenschmiede) October 7, 2018
Reading up through some German Schalke forums, and he's seems like the most consistent player of that u19 group. The way they talk about him reminds me of how they spoke about McKennie. Here are a couple of quotes.. Jones once again left three players behind off his dribble. Schalke always hits long balls to Jones. The only way to stop him is to foul him .. Or he will cause danger. He is going to be a lot of fun.
Glad the athletic American player found his way to a place where they don't just hit long balls to the athletic American player!
haha right?! In all seriousness, I went and watched him play here in Atlanta for the ATL United academy a few times and he is by far the most physically dominant kid I've ever seen at that level. It was unreal. He looked like an NFL running back out there. His athleticism alone makes him a dangerous prospect at the pro level if his technical ability can keep up.
He was lined up on the left most of the time and was always trying to get to the end line to put in a cross on his left, so I would assume he's left-footed.
Calling it: Zyen will eventually be moved to left back. And he'll be good. He has a lot of skills but one of them is not a right foot he's comfortable with and that will keep him from being a high-end midfielder. But otherwise, there's a lot to like.
This translation is a little scary, but sounds like he might be out of action for the U19s right now: https://schalke04.de/knappenschmiede/u19-bundesliga/u19-keine-einfache-aufgabe-in-paderborn/ Definitely not able to participate is Joselpho Barnes (minor knee injury) and Brian Wolff (ankle). A question mark is also behind the use of Zyen Jones, who has resumed training after surviving angina. Andriko Smolinski, meanwhile, who was in the German U19 national team and has played two games, has returned well.