Justin Heekeren will leave FC Schalke 04 until the end of the season. He is going on loan abroad.
One week before the end of the transfer window, FC Schalke 04 have announced a departure. Goalkeeper Justin Heekeren is leaving the second division football club on loan and moving to Belgium until the end of the season.
He is joining Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, which is currently fourth in the second division. “Playing practice is very important, especially for young goalkeepers,” says sporting director Marc Wilmots. “In view of the depth of our goalkeeping team, we have found a solution together that should enable Justin to get more game time by the summer. The experience of the coming months will certainly help Justin in his further development.”
Heekeren would have had little chance of playing for the Royal Blues in the near future. In addition to the current number one, Marius Müller is also ahead of the 23-year-old in the pecking order, with veteran Michael Langer also part of the Schalke goalkeeping squad.
Heekeren has been between the posts in two second-division games this season. These were his first two professional appearances since he was signed from regional league side Rot-Weiß Oberhausen in the summer of 2022. Last year, a cruciate ligament rupture had slowed him down for months.
It was already becoming apparent that the Xanten-born goalkeeper would leave Gelsenkirchen this winter. “He often trained well and really impressed me. But with the return of Marius Müller, the situation is different. We have two good goalkeepers, with Michael Langer also in the team,” said coach Karel Geraerts at the press conference before the away game at 1. FC Kaiserslautern (Friday, 6:30 p.m.). ”He also needs to play and can then come back to fight for his place. I believe in his potential.”
Heekeren is the second departure of the current transfer period after Niklas Tauer (loan prematurely canceled). It is likely that it will not remain that way. Soichiro Kozuki is also said to be on the verge of a loan. Further details can be found at the colleagues of the WAZ.