In addition to Simon Terodde and Marius Bülter, there is another player on Schalke who is an extremely driving force offensively: Thomas Ouwejan shines in several areas with top marks.
Marco Terrazzino has set up Simon Terodde for the most goals – ten in all, all during their time together at VfL Bochum. Then already Dominick Drexler follows with nine assists, eight of them at 1. FC Köln and one at Schalke 04. “I have the impression that something similar is emerging at Schalke right now with Thomas Ouwejan,” Terodde says in the four-page kicker interview (Monday edition). “I quickly noticed that he has a fantastic left foot. “
There is no doubt that Ouwejan has also played his part in Schalke’s upswing. With 34 assists, the Dutchman is not only by far the best in the league in this discipline, but he also has four direct assists to his name – only St. Pauli’s Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (7) and Düsseldorf’s Khaled Narey (6) have more. In the 3-0 win in Kiel, Terodde converted two precise free-kicks from Ouwejan, who followed up with two more assists in the two most recent games in Rostock (2-0) and against Ingolstadt (3-0) – once from play (scorer Terodde), once with a corner, which Aydin finished with an artistic kung-fu shot.
It is possible that Ouwejan will become one of the three most successful S04 assistants of the past ten years. The top three are currently his compatriot Klaas Jan Huntelaar (13 assists in 2011/12), Daniel Caligiuri (10, 2017/18) and with eight each Max Meyer (2015/16) and Jefferson Farfan (2013/14).
Only Kaminski gets more playing time
Ouwejan, Schalke’s top scorer behind Terodde (11 goals, 2 assists) and Marius Bülter (3 goals, 3 assists), is a real perennial favourite. So far, he has only been substituted once: most recently against Ingolstadt after 84 minutes. Only centre-back Marcin Kaminski currently gets more playing time in the team.
Ouwejan, who is on loan from AZ Alkmaar until the end of the season and for whom Schalke have an option to buy, has long since recommended himself for a permanent contract. The 25-year-old’s numbers clearly show that the Dutchman is the driving force behind Schalke’s upturn in fortunes, having won four of their past five games. His 259 sprints rank him fifth in the league in that category, and he has also hit the most crosses (52) and also delivered them to the man (16).