Schalke 04 reacts to the defensive weakness. Czech European Championship participant Tomas Kalas is expected to make the second-division club, which got off to a weak start, more stable.

FC Schalke 04 have already conceded nine goals in their five games this season (four in the 2nd Bundesliga, one in the DFB Cup). Above all, the weak league performance with only one win so far is forcing the Königsblauen to make improvements in defence.

Schalke are hoping for more stability at the back in the coming games from Tomas Kalas. The 30-year-old centre-back is out of contract and, according to information from this editorial team, is in negotiations with the Gelsenkirchen club. According to “Sky”, he is already undergoing a medical check this Saturday.

Kalas would be available to Schalke on a free transfer. Most recently, the Czech played for Bristol City in the English Championship, the second division on the British Isles.

He made a total of 155 appearances for Bristol, but only made eight appearances last season. Kalas missed the first 14 matchdays due to a groin strain, after two short appearances he was not considered for the squad by his coach for a longer period in the middle and at the end of the season. Only three times did he play 70 minutes or more per game. Tomas Kalas made 31 appearances for his home country, scoring two goals. He was part of the Czech squad for the 2021 European Championship.

Tomas Kalas is 1.84 metres tall and feels most comfortable in central defence. However, he has also played a few times at right back – Schalke 04 are looking for options for the outside-back positions, after all. For the inside, Schalke had reinforced themselves with Timo Baumgartl after the season opener. Marcin Kaminski, however, did not radiate any security in the centre of defence.

Now Tomas Kalas is supposed to make the Schalke defence more secure. The right-footer was already under contract in Germany once in 2014/15. At 1. FC Köln, however, he did not make it into the Bundesliga, and Kalas only played twice for the U23s in the Regionalliga.

Prior to that, the Sigma Olomouc-trained defender had attracted interest from Chelsea FC, making two Premier League appearances in 2013/14 and one in the Champions League. After the Cologne intermezzo, several years followed for Middlesbrough FC, Fulham FC and Bristol City in the English Championship. Now Tomas Kalas is expected to help Schalke 04 further.