FC Schalke 04 has extended the contracts of two young talents. Silas Thier and Luca Höfel currently play for the U17s.

Silas Thier and Luca Höfel will remain with FC Schalke 04. The two youth players from the Royal Blues’ U17 Bundesliga team have both extended their contracts.

“Silas has been at the Knappenschmiede for seven years. He’s a good choice for the right side of the pitch. We are happy that he has decided to continue his career at Schalke,” said Mathias Schober, Director of the Knappenschmiede and Development, about the 16-year-old defender Thier.

He said of goalkeeper Höfel: “With a view to the new U19 team, Luca now completes our goalkeeping trio for the coming season with Nick Bodon and Johannes Siebeking.”

Thier has been with Schalke since the U11s

Silas Thier has been a Schalke player since the U11s. He joined the Knappenschmiede in 2017. The 2023/2024 season will be the right-back’s first in the U17 Bundesliga West. His tally so far: 20 appearances, 19 from the start, as well as two goals and four assists.

Luca Höfel, on the other hand, only found his way to Gelsenkirchen in the summer of 2023, coming from the youth ranks of SV Wehen Wiesbaden. At Schalke, he is currently number two in the U17s behind Nick Bodon. In the 2023/2024 Junior Bundesliga, Höfel made 19 appearances in the squad and twice between the posts.

Schalke in third place in the U17 Bundesliga West

FC Schalke 04 is in third place in the U17 Bundesliga West with 47 points (49-14 goals). The gap to second place, currently occupied by Borussia Dortmund, is one point.

BVB and league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen would therefore currently qualify for the final round of the German B-Junior Championship