FC Schalke 04’s U19s are still fighting for a place in the final round of the German Championship. But in the background, plans are already being made for the future.

FC Schalke 04 still have two games left in the U19 Bundesliga. The first is against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen on Saturday (4 March, 11 am). Then on Saturday (11 March, 1 p.m.) to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Four to six points are a must if the team wants to knock 1. FC Köln out of second place. The Cologne team still has to play Bayer Leverkusen at home and last-place VfB Hilden.

Assuming they get these three points against Hilden, FC must slip up against Leverkusen and Schalke must be there. The first two teams qualify for the final round of the German championship. BVB in first place, with a two-point lead over Cologne and a three-point lead over Schalke, have the best chance of reaching the finals.

However, before the final games are played, the Königsblauen have already put the third transfer for the coming season into dry cloth.

Roman Doulashi will move to Gelsenkirchen in the summer. The 17-year-old centre-back moves to the Knappenschmiede from Bonner SC. Doulashi has made eight appearances for the league rivals so far this season as a youngster.

“Roman is an athletic player as well as a strong header and tackler,” said Mathias Schober, Knappenschmiede director of development. “With his good performances, he has already made it into the sights of the junior national teams of the DFB.”

Schalke had previously signed Jean Paul Ndiaye and Zaid Amoussou-Tchibara. Ndiaye comes from Hannover’s U17 team, where he scored twelve goals in 13 games this season. Amoussou-Tchibara is also an attacker. He moves to Schalke from Bayer Leverkusen’s U17 team. He scored twelve times in eight matches in the U17 Bundesliga West.