After signing Niklas Tauer, FC Schalke has given a professional contract to a player from the U23 squad.
Bundesliga football club FC Schalke has once again reshuffled its professional squad. Following the departures of Florian Flick (1. FC Nürnberg / loan) and Kerim Calhanoglu (SV Sandhausen / loan), Niklas Tauer (FSV Mainz / loan) has now been joined by a talent from the U23 squad on a professional contract.
Soichiro Kozuki has signed a professional contract until the end of the 2024/2025 season. In addition, the contract includes an option for a further season, which is automatically activated if he plays a certain number of games.
Kozuki recently attracted attention with three goals in preparation for the rest of the season. In the Regionalliga, the 22-year-old previously scored 13 points in 14 games for FC Schalke’s U23s.
Now it’s up to him to continue on the path he has chosen.
Peter Knäbel
S04 board member Peter Knäbel emphasised: “In the test matches and training sessions so far, Soichiro has hinted at his potential, and not just because of his goals. As a club, we are pleased that another player from the U23s has recommended himself for the professional team. Now it’s up to him to continue on his chosen path – and we will support him in the best possible way.”
S04 coach Thomas Reis is looking forward to working with the talent after the signing: “Soichiro is strong in two fights, brings a high level of dynamism and also has good speed. He undoubtedly has great talent, but is still at the beginning of his career. Even though there are already some comparisons with great Japanese players, we want to keep the pressure off him as much as possible and build him up carefully. So that we will have a lot of pleasure with him in the future.”
The player, who moved to Gelsenkirchen from Düren, said: “I feel very comfortable here at Schalke and am very grateful for the chance the club is giving me. I will continue to work hard on myself in order to achieve class preservation together with the team.”
Along the way, there are sure to be one or two more personnel Schalke have to announce in their personnel between now and the end of January when the transfer window closes.
