FC Schalke 04 has signed another player. He brings a remarkable CV to the second division club from Gelsenkirchen.
FC Schalke 04 announced the most prominent new signing for the coming season on Wednesday morning: Amin Younes will line up for the second-division soccer club from Gelsenkirchen. The 30-year-old was recently without a club and has therefore joined the Royal Blues on a free transfer. The club did not provide any information on the duration of the contract.
Younes has already been on the Schalke training pitch in recent weeks. Born in Düsseldorf, he kept himself fit with the second team and occasionally trained with the professionals. He apparently convinced coach Karel Geraerts of his qualities. The fast and tricky attacking player can look back on experience in the German national team and in the Champions League. Recently, however, he has disappeared from view. Now he wants to get his career back on track at S04.
“Amin is an attacking artist who has outstanding technical skills. He has shown in recent weeks that he has the absolute will to get back to a top level physically in order to attack once again in the licensed sector,” explains sporting director Marc Wilmots. “His ambition, his adaptability and his performances have impressed us, so we want to give him this chance.”
Younes comes from the youth ranks of Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he made his Bundesliga debut in 2012. The winger’s path led him to Ajax Amsterdam via 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Younes experienced his best times at the Dutch top club. He was a regular in the team that reached the Europa League final in 2017 – and eliminated Schalke in the semi-finals. With his goal in the last minute of extra time, Younes knocked his future employers out of the competition.
His performances at Ajax opened the door for Younes to the German national team, with whom he won the Confederations Cup in 2017. Younes played a total of eight international matches (two goals). A year later, Younes moved to SSC Napoli, then to Eintracht Frankfurt, then to Saudi Arabia and finally on loan to FC Utrecht in the Netherlands. Younes has been without a club since last summer – he played his last competitive match more than a year ago.
Commenting on his move to Schalke, he said: “I would like to thank Ben Manga, Marc Wilmots and Karel Geraerts as well as the entire U23 coaching team for the trust they have placed in me. They have signaled to me that they believe in me. Now it’s up to me to perform and justify their trust.”
Schalke’s new squad planner Ben Manga already knows Younes from his time in Frankfurt. After Adrian Gantenbein (FC Winterthur), Rob-Thorben Hoffmann, Anton Donkor (both Eintracht Braunschweig) and Janik Bachmann (Hansa Rostock), he is the fifth new signing for the coming season.
Younes has already been on the Schalke training pitch in recent weeks. Born in Düsseldorf, he kept himself fit with the second team and also trained with the professionals at times. He apparently convinced coach Karel Geraerts of his qualities