Football Season Guide

Schalke’s domestic struggles, particularly in defence, were constant throughout the previous campaign and the Miners lost the most matches in the entire top flight by more than two-goal margin. Change was inevitable and this summer ex-Huddersfield’s coach David Wagner was appointed in charge. Proving in the Premier League that he can achieve good results with limited finances, Wagner is seen as very good fit for Schalke as the team’s finances are poor and relying on youth seems to be the trend at the minute. Apart from Embolo, none of the other players that departed this summer was expected to see much playing time under Wagner and it seems that the new boss has strengthened the group slightly. He signed promising young centre-back Kabak and explosive winger Raman, both of them likely to become regular starters, but most of the other signings made were simply to add depth. Wagner likes possession-based football and already in pre-season it was obvious that both Bentaleb and McKennie will be very important in the heart of the midfield. It seems almost every forward pass will be going through them. Also Wagner will rely on the few experienced squad members to guide the youngsters, with Oczipka, Caligiuri and Konoplyanka seen as senior players, despite all of them only just turning 30. All-in-all this season is seen by most pundits as transitional one, with Schalke set to look for new identity and in the process developing several youngsters.