Chapter 815: Difficult Transfer Windows for Schalke

Time flew by in this pre-season, as Frohling really pushed everyone beyond their limit. Poor those players; sometimes, they even had to drag their feet to get out of either the pitch or the gym, literally. It seemed that the team’s condition was not good, as not everyone was capable of finishing the whole training without their bodies dropping lifelessly after that.

Not that Higo minded, of course, since he himself also had his own training to focus on. Right now, the boy felt like his shoulder was good to go, even better than ever. Hell, his gym training even started to include his shoulder again, which was a huge improvement.

’Next week, we will have another checkup at Marienhospital. If the result is okay and the doctor gives a green light, you are good to go.’

At least, that was what Daniel Guzman said regarding his injury, and Higo wouldn’t lie here; besides excitement, there was also a slight nervousness slipping into his system. He had been doing a rehabilitation plan for about seven weeks now, and while the doctor always reassured him that it was within a normal range, he still couldn’t shake off the feeling that something would go wrong in the process.

’No, I cannot have my mind getting filled with that kind of thought.’ He shook his head strongly. ’I will be okay, and after the checkup next week, I can finally start training with the team again. This is something worth celebrating!’

At least, that was what Higo said to convince himself in that rare moment of vulnerability on his side.

Meanwhile, besides him, two more injured players also started to come back to the Berger Feld. Morita and Oczipka were finally back, and even though they were still in their modified training, their presence alone was enough to make everyone excited.

"Damn, Bastian! It took you long enough!"

"Hey, Morita! How long will it take for you to get back to the pitch?"

"You two bastards! Do you have enough holiday already? Get better quickly; we are waiting for you!"

Well, at least those two blended in with the other two new players on the team, and the situation was quite light among the players. Everyone was more excited about Morita, especially since the midfielder was a key player for the team last season. Even Klaas-Jan Huntelaar took his time to greet the boy personally here.

"So, you are the midfielder who can send the ball wherever you like without a problem, huh? I will wait for your comeback to the pitch, and let me be the judge of that!"

Higo couldn’t help but snort when he heard that, feeling like the corner of his lips twitched unconsciously. This was told in a similar tone to how Sead Kolasinac told him the first time they met, which meant those two seniors should’ve heard something from Frohling beforehand.

’Whatever nonsense Frohling-sensei said, I am sure that he is up to no good here. Damn him and his big mouth!’ The boy couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

Unfortunately, though, the excitement that the players had with those two’s arrival wasn’t shared by the coaching team. After all, the transfer windows were still rolling, and somehow, more players left with the speed that neither Frohling nor the sporting director was quick enough to get a new player to fill in the gap.

The next player who left was Rabbi Matondo, the winger from Congo who spent half of the season becoming Fabian Reese’s backup. The man would be loaned to Stoke City for the second division in England, hoping that he would get another minute to play.

His departure, while unexpected, didn’t hurt the team really much. After all, he was a backup player, and Schalke still had Benito Raman to fill the gap.

However, the next two departures gave Frohling a massive headache. This time, within 24 hours, Daniel Caligliuri and Michael Gregoritsch decided to leave the club. The former had been wanting to retire from football since he was already old enough, with more injuries last season, while the latter wanted to go back to Augsburg, the team that made his name big, to serve them one last time before retiring.

Frohling respected their decision, but their timing was the worst here. Those two’s departure basically left the frontline with nothing, as Nassim had already left the team before anyone else a week ago.

"We only have Suat Serdar and Huntelaar as our strikers, but I am not convinced at all!" Frohling growled in a meeting with the sporting director one morning. "Where the fuck are the strikers I want? I cannot make the team run properly without anyone good enough to score a goal, you know?!"

Not saying that the two he currently had were bad, but they had their own problem. It was already proven that Suat Serdar couldn’t be trusted with maintaining discipline for a full season, and Huntelaar himself had already declared that he was just going to be a backup; he couldn’t play for a full season as a main player without letting his knees crumble.

In return, Frohling had already made a list of names for the team to approach, and yet, so far, they couldn’t get anyone to come to the Berger Feld.

The closest one would probably be Vedad Ibisevic, Sead Kolasinac’s countryman whose contract with Hertha Berlin was over. No one had approached the man so far, so the chance of him signing with the team was quite big. However, the man’s agent asked quite a lot here, wanting his player’s wage to be considered among the top 5 in the team.

This alone was enough to destroy the team’s salary structure, so the negotiation was stagnant between the team and the player.

Then, there was an experienced Portuguese player, Goncalo Paciencia, who had been sidelined at Eintracht Frankfurt, so asking for a loan should be possible. It also helped that Schalke had just sent Nassim Boujellab to that team a week ago, so the relationship between the two teams should be good enough to help them get that man.

Unfortunately, the man himself was unwilling to leave the team, which became another headache for Frohling to have as he had to think about how to convince the man to join him.

As time passed and they got closer to the opening of the Bundesliga season, though, no one really came to Schalke, and the coach started to get anxious.

’Fuck it! Is our team really that bad or what?!’