Battling midfielder set to land Bundesliga contract.

Ghana midfielder Stephen Appiah could finally be signing for a new club in the form of Schalke, according to reports.

The 28-year-old central midfielder has been a free agent since leaving Fenerbahce last year having endured a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a serious knee injury.
Appiah spent time on trial at Spurs last January, with both Arsenal and West Ham also linked with moves for the player.

However, nothing ever materialised, with question marks over Appiah’s fitness believed to be preventing a deal from being completed.

After training with Russian champions Rubin Kazan, the former Juventus powerhouse then discovered that he could not join a new club until he paid Fenerbahce $2.3 million, after FIFA found in the Turks’ favour following a complaint that Appiah breached his contract.
The Black Stars’ skipper – who has 53 caps for his country – has most recently been training with former club Brescia’s youth team in a bid to improve his fitness.

And although Catania general manager Lo Monaco revealed that he would be interested in acquiring the Ghanaian’s services, Schalke boss Felix Magath is now considering making a move for him to add strength and depth to his midfield, according to Spox.com.
However, the report also claims that one other German outfit, plus several French sides are also monitoring the situation closely. (Four Four Two)

It appeared that the Ghanaian was very high up on Arsene Wenger’s wishlist some time ago and when he was released by Fenerbahce there was a mad scramble for his services but no one seemed to be keen on paying him the inflated salary he was after.

Bundesliga outfit Schalke are now the front runners and even though the Germans will probably have to pay that $2.3m compensation it would still be a good signing to make and a potential bargain.

Clearly worries over the midfielder’s fitness will have a played a part in the fact that none of the Premier League big boys offered him a deal but if his move to the Bundesliga comes to fruition it may be a decision Arsene, Harry & Gianfranco had wished they had gambled on.


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