It's been a bit deserted since the season ended. Doesn't help that we haven't been super active on the market.
Still unofficial. Not surprised though. More depth for the wing and up top. Presumably, this means Szalai is on the way out.
Still doubt Szalai will leave. There were some clubs asking for a loan but Szalai didn't even think about it before he refused. I also don't get why he should leave. Sure his season was disappointing but it's not as if he was totally useless. He is a decent backup for Huntelaar, that is important seeing how many games Huntelaar tends to miss.
Imho it would be nice to keep him. But he always seems to be on the go. Like Rafinha or Holtby before him. Neither of them believed that Schalke could be competitive with the likes of Dortmund or Bayern or go far in the CL for that matter. Which is probably true. But we never will be competitive if our best players always leave the club. With Choupo-Moting, Meyer, Draxler, Farfan, Sam, Szalai and Huntelaar in the team at least two players with first team qualities need to be benched. I suppose neither Choupo-Moting nor Farfan or Sam will be content with sitting on the bench. So Farfan, who has a reputation, maybe decides it's time to go for the bigger pay check in the PL. Fährmann Uchida Höwedes Kirchhoff/Papadopulus/Ayhan/Matip Aogo/Kolasinac Boateng Goretzka (Papadopulus/Kolasinac/Ayhan/Matip/Neustädter) Meyer/Draxler/Boateng Choupo-Moting/Farfan Draxler/Sam Huntelaar/Szalai
I wouldn't mind selling Farfan right now, mostly because he's 29 and it would be shrewd business, but I don't think minutes will be hard to come by this year for a few reasons. For one, I don't think Draxler will play on the wing. I think Draxler will be our starting 10, with Meyer as his backup. That will leave a rotation of Sam, Choupo-Moting, and Farfan as our primary wingers, with Draxler and Goretzka capable backups in case of injuries. Huntelaar, Szalai, and Choupo-Moting will cover striker. Boateng and Goretzka will cover half of the double pivot, while Neu, Ayhan, Hoger, and Aogo will cover the other half of the double pivot. And that brings me to my last point, I think our log-jam isn't on the wings, it's at the number 6 position. I cannot see Aogo and Hoger getting many minutes. Aogo will rotate with Kola at LB and I suppose Hoger can be Uchida's backup, but even still. Someone in that group is going to end up not playing a whole lot.
Yup, his (Farfans) strength depends on speed a lot, which will gradually diminish when getting older. But he still can be a game changer, so I'd rather keep him. I would also like to see Draxler as a 10. The question is, how much time does he need to adjust to that role. But I don't want to bench Meyer. The kid is just awesome. And therein lies the difficulty: one 10 too much. Goretzka has a great vision, physical strength and the technical abilities too. Perfect link between defense and offence he is. I would place him in DM, with a slightly more offensive Boateng. It's a good squad, actually. With good players on the bench too, great wingers, decent backline (will see if needs further improvement), good young/experienced player proportion. There has been some progress on every position in quality and quantity compared to the 12/13 season. Kudos to Norbert Elgert! Except, we need a proper Uchida backup. But I'm afraid at least one of the bigger names will leave the club eventually (Draxler/Farfan/Meyer). Not sure if Choupo-Moting is planned as winger or striker, though.
With all the games to play, Keller will just have to rotate them. And they can still be on the field at the same time. Maybe at the 60th minute, Meyer comes in for Sam and slides Draxler over to the wing.
Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (EMCM), or Schokopudding (EMSP) as some fans like to call, him looks like the only one. Heldt looks to unload a couple of players (Fuchs, Santana, Barnetta) but they are all expandable. Anything major would be a big big surprise and probably involve an insane offer for one of our better players.
I think Homa hit the nail on the head. EMCM is the only World Cup player we'll grab, unless Draxler or Meyer are sold.
A few articles with speculation that Liverpool or Arsenal are after Hunter. I'd be happy to sell, as long as we have a replacement lined up.
Bild reports that Hoffenheim offered 6m for Szalai and Heldt agreed. I'm torn if that is really true. 6m looks like a decent fee after Szalai's year but it is not so much that you really need to sell him.
Interesting. And it's starting to sound like Liverpool's interest in Huntelaar is legitimate. We might have to go out and buy another forward this off season. I cannot imagine where we'd look. The lower teams in the Bundesliga have been picked apart.
Huntelaar would at least bring in some cash as his release clause is apparently 14m. I have no idea who you would bring in. Maybe make Stuttgart a gigantic offer for Werner or look for some cheaper stop gap, f.e. Ibisevic. Maybe just go with Choup-Moting and our current squad, try the false-9 experiment. I think we have a couple of player's you could play that, Meyer, Draxler, Farfan, EMCM but I don't how well. Or move Boateng up there. He isn't as much of a goal threat as Huntelaar but his hold up play should be much better.
With 20m on hand (Huntelaar, Szalai) and the prospect to play CL football, we should be able to get a fitting forward. False 9 capable would be nice. Although, I can't think of one. What do guys think of Yedlin? I've never seen any MLS game. He seemed quite convincing. Is he Uchida level? And, yes, Farfan is having surgery.
Yes, but sources just say he'll be out "months." No idea when he will be back. Thankfully we have Sam and EMCM. That said, if we sell Szalai and Hunter, we will definitely need to purchase reinforcements... No doubt it's a possibility. I guess I just don't know who's available. We could always pickup a player on loan if we're desperate, like Lukaku's loan to Everton. I really don't know what to think. He's not Uchida level. I watched him in an MLS game, once. He got shredded to pieces by Diego Fagundez, a 19 year old Uruguayan-American winger. He really needs seasoning and tactical development, but his athleticism and technique is top notch. If we bought him, both parties would be best served loaning him our right away. That said, he would come cheap and he has enormous potential (more potential than Uchida). EDIT: The American player I really would have wanted is Junior Flores, but Dortmund already picked him up.
Szalai's transfer is now official. http://www.schalke04.de/de/aktuell/news/140704_szalai/page/3970--10-213-.html I think Coupo-Motings signing gets confirmed when he returns from his vacation which will probably take some time. Don't know if Heldt will look for another striker to replace Szalai. I have no idea who it could even be.
Guess I somwhat underestimated the speed with which Schalke and EMCM operate. Signing is now official: http://www.schalke04.de/de/aktuell/news/140705_choupo_moting/page/3971--10-213-.html Heldt says that they mainly plan EMSP in the attacking center so I guess he will be Huntelaar's backup. We will see how it will really turn out with Farfan's injury.