Right-back Mehmet Aydin is currently one of Schalke’s own youngsters who have a regular place in the team. Before the game against Sandhausen, he spoke about his situation and well-known mates.
In the two games after his comeback Mehmet Aydin could not really convince yet, but before his muscle injury in the thigh the Schalke homegrown was one of the winners of the current season. He displaced competitor Reinhold Ranftl at the right-back position and collected two scorer points in ten games, including a goal against FC Ingolstadt.
The 19-year-old is the next talent from the Knappenschmiede to be promoted to the first team. However, only Aydin and Malick Thiaw are currently playing regularly. But the role models are present, the great ones like Manuel Neuer or Julian Draxler, but also the recently transferred ones. “I’m happy about Can Bozdogan’s Champions League debut,” Aydin revealed before Schalk’s match against SV Sandhausen on Saturday, but his predecessors are only of limited use as role models: “But as a young player, you have the goal of asserting yourself in preparation and you can only think of yourself.”
Aydin, who came to Gelsenkirchen via the youth teams of Alemannia Aachen and Borussia Mönchengladbach, has other role models, both at the club and abroad. Thomas Ouwejan, for example, who provides plenty of stimulation and danger on the left. “I call Thomas David Beckham, as good as he is at crossing “, he reveals.
And for professional advice, there is another: Ilkay Gündogan, a native of Gelsenkirchen, national player and top performer at Champions League finalists Manchester City. The midfielder, who has the same advisor as Aydin, is “like a big brother”. Regular exchanges included: “When I play well, he praises me. If I play badly, I can ask him for tips. “
And maybe the big brother has some advice regarding his contract, which expires at the end of the season. Aydin himself, however, is not that concerned about the situation. “I’m always thinking about the next game. The talks are going on, but without him: “I’m leaving it completely up to the club and my advisor.” However, there is a small hint of a possible extension at Schalke when he emphasises: “I’ve been here for seven years now. “
