Argentine striker, Franco Di Santo is gradually dropping down the pecking order in German club side, FC Schalke 04. The 26-year old joined The Miners from fellow German club side Werder Bremen in mid 2015 for a transfer fee of £4.5 million. Coach Andre Breitenreiter signed the striker with the hope of having more attacking options but he is performing below expectations.
Di Santo launched his career at Audax Italiano before moving on to play at Stamford Bridge, England. He also played for Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic before moving to Germany where he played for Bundesliga giants, Werder Bremen.
Franco Di Santo was impressive at Werder Bremen scoring 17 goals in 49 games for the club. For FC Schalke 04, he has not performed as much. He has only three goals in the Bundesliga despite playing 27 games. He has done better in the Europa League having put five goals past the goal keeper in seven games. He scored a hat-trick on October 1st last year against Ast. Tripolis but he continues to struggle in the Bundesliga.
German news outfit Bild hinted that The Royal Blues might offload the striker during the summer. Klass-Jan Huntelaar is the preferred forward for the team, and has scored eight goals this season. Other attacking options are now preferred to Franco, based on his run in the league.
FC Schalke 04 is currently seventh in the league having earned 44 points from 28 games. Franco Di Santo played in the last game for the German side against FC Ingolstadt. Schalke were defeated by three goals to nothing by the ninth placed team. Poor finishing attempts from Schalke left the team miserable during the encounter. As the season gradually ends, Schalke really needed the game to garner more points to be able to make Europe. Schalke faces second-placed team Borussia Dortmund this weekend. Borussia Dortmund are five points away from top placed team, Bayern Munich.