Justin Heekeren has already made a name for himself in the Schalke 04 goal twice this season. This has been reflected in a new contract.

Justin Heekeren will continue to keep the FC Schalke 04 goal in the future. Not only because he was made the number one under both the first coach of the current season, Karel Geraerts, and his successor Kees van Wonderen, but also because his contract has been extended until the summer of 2026.

Heekeren played his tenth second division game of the season in the 2-0 win over SSV Jahn Regensburg last weekend. This activated a clause in his contract, meaning Heekeren will remain a Royal Blue for another year.

The 23-year-old, who was born in Xanten, most recently attracted attention in the 0-0 draw against SSV Ulm 1846. The miners could easily have lost the game if it hadn’t been for Heekeren. In the goalkeeper casting called for by van Wonderen with summer signing Ron-Thorben Hoffmann, he got his chance every Friday evening.

And Heekeren took his chance: for the first time in the current second division season, he kept a clean sheet, making five saves. He stretched out twice and deflected shots from Maurice Krattenmacher (15th/59th) around the post. He looked confident when coming out, and he’s strong with the ball at his feet anyway – it was a well-rounded performance, his best this season.

Heekeren made his attitude clear: “There’s been a lot of talk about goalkeepers recently, so I went into the game with a ‘screw you’ attitude. I just wanted to show the coach and the team that I’m there. And that worked really well. The team can now see that we are compact at the back – then we can concentrate more on the offense.”

Heekeren was to remain in the Königsblau goal and celebrate another clean sheet against Jahn Regensburg. The 2-0 win gave Schalke a quieter international break – and Heekeren another year of his contract.