Leon Goretzka’s future is still up in the air as the Schalke man is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal provided by the Bundesliga club. The 22-year-old midfielder will be a free agent come the end of this season and can also negotiate with other clubs when he enters the final six months of his current contract, which is the start of the winter window.

With all signs pointing at the player’s exit in the summer, the weird thing is that Schalke still believe they have a chance of keeping hold of the player.

Schalke sporting director Christan Heidel has stated that the club are still in the rain in keeping hold of one of Germany’s rising stars.

Speaking to Kicker (h/t talkSPORT), the German said:

“I have faith in Leon and his advisers. We remain in the race.”

Schalke have not had the best of times when it comes to keeping hold of those players running down their contracts, with Joel Matip leaving them to join us and even Erick Choupa-Moting joining Stoke City. Sead Kolasinac was another player who left them for free when he joined Arsenal in the summer. The Bundesliga club could lose out on another player in Max Meyer and they would be trying to avoid anything similar with Goretzka.

Goretzka Hitting The Heights

The German has been a key player for club and country this season as he has bagged 7 goals in the Bundesliga and in World Cup qualifiers. The 22-year-old can play as a deep-lying central midfielder or even a little up front as an attacking one, something that might tempt Jurgen Klopp and company to move for him.

We have been linked with a move for the German as he enters his final six months but face a lot of competition from the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and even Borussia Dortmund. Goretzka is one of the brightest talents in German football and it would not be easy to get him across to England. However, under Klopp, he will get better and possibly become one of the best players in the world.

He might even end up being a replacement for Emre Can or even Philippe Coutinho in case one of them leaves us next summer. Goretzka might not be a Can or Coutinho but he could turn into the player to give us a lot more in the heart of midfield.