It has been clear for some time that Ben Manga is to lead Schalke back into the Bundesliga as squad planner. Now it becomes official today.

It will become official today: It’s been weeks since André Hechelmann left second-division soccer club FC Schalke 04 – but the Royal Blues have yet to introduce a new technical director.

A change is due to take place during the summer break. Now the deal with preferred candidate Ben Manga finally seems to be sealed. The 50-year-old is to be officially presented as the new squad planner today.

Ben Manga most recently worked as technical director at Watford FC and has now terminated his contract with the English second division club, having been on leave since October 2023.

After several shorter spells at German professional clubs, he previously worked for Eintracht Frankfurt as Chief Scout (2016 to 2021) and Director of Professional Football (June 2021 to November 2022), during which time he played a key role in Eintracht’s rise from a team in the elevator with financial worries to DFB Cup and Europa League winners. His highlight was the signing of Randal Kolo Muani on a free transfer, which subsequently earned Frankfurt around 95 million euros.

Schalke should play for promotion

His new task at Schalke is clear: after a poor season, in which the club celebrated relegation with a win against Osnabrück on Tuesday, Manga and Schalke’s sporting director Marc Wilmots are to rebuild the squad so that the Royal Blues can play in the top third of the table next season and thus compete for promotion. Manga was long regarded as the preferred candidate, and it had been clear for weeks that he would take over at Schalke if the club were to win the league.

However, the club has not yet given a firm commitment. That is set to change today at lunchtime. Will he then also bring scout Helena Costa (46), with whom he already worked in Frankfurt and at Watford FC? FC Schalke 04 will announce more on this in a few hours’ time