Official: Schalke secure Kolasinac for €2.2 million
Schalke 04 have now made it official. Sead Kolasinac will return to Gelsenkirchen on a six-month-loan. The German Bundesliga club confirmed that they paid €2.2 million in loan fees to bring the Gunners' defender back to the Bundesrepublik.
The leaked rumors from earlier in the day have found quick confirmation. Germany's Knappen released an official statement corroborating a deal to bring 27-year-old Karlsruhe native Sead Kolasnic back to the Ruhrpott for a second stint. The German defender of Bosnian decent returns to the club which developed him through their youth academy.
"We worked intensively to secure the return of Sead Kolasinac and are truly proud that a genuine Schalke lad is coming home," sporting director Jochen Schneider said in his statement, "Sead embodies the values that characterize Schalke 04; the ones that are critical to the fight to stay in the league: irrepressible will and strength of character."
In his own statement, Kolasinac expressed optimism that he would be able to help his old club meet their objectives for the season.
"I'm very pleased and proud to be able to once again don the Schalke jersey with immediate effect,"The club presently finds itself in a very difficult situation . In the coming weeks and months, I want to do my part to help us collect as many points as possible."
"Together, we will manage to stay in the league," Kolasinac continued, "I am 100 percent convinced of that. My contact to Schalke never ceased. A return to Gelsenkirchen is an opportunity to follow my heart."
The new acquisition will have to wait until round 15 to debut for the club. While it is presumed that he will be expected to fulfill a leadership role, the club took care to emphasize that Omar Mascarell will remain the team captain.