FC Schalke 04 have announced the signing of German left-back Bastian Oczipka from fellow Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a three-year contract.

Oczipka the man set to replace Kolašinac

The fee paid for the defender remains undisclosed between the two clubs and Oczipka will be wearing the number 24 shirt for the Royal Blues this season.

The 28-year-old is set to replace Sead Kolašinac in the first-team after the Bosnian left for Premier League side Arsenal on a free transfer earlier in the summer transfer window.

Schalke head coach Domenico Tedesco told the club's official website that the Royal Blues are "very excited to have [Oczipka] with us for the new season."

Tedesco described Oczipka as a "reliable left-back who knows the Bundesliga well" and added that the German is a modern full-back who is "solid at the back as well as being a danger going forward."

Oczipka also spoke following the announcement, saying that he is "excited by this new challenge" and that credit for the move goes to Tedesco and Schalke general manager Christian Heidel for convicing him "to get involved with the challenges that lie ahead here at Schalke."

The former Frankfurt man also took the opportunity to thank his old club "for five great years" in the Bundesliga.

Oczipka played in a more advanced position than his usual full-back spot during the DFB Pokal final.

Left-back still looking for first major trophy after tasting final defeat

Oczipka is a man with plenty of Bundesliga experience to his name, having made 175 appearances in the German top-flight since 2010/11 for FC St. Pauli, Bayer Leverkusen and most recently Eintracht Frankfurt.

In addition to his loan spell with FC St. Pauli, Oczipka also experienced the 2.Bundesliga during a loan spell with Hansa Rostock in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons where he made 45 appearances across all competitions.

A year after returning to Bayer 04 he made the move to Frankfurt for a fee of £425,000 and went on to make 167 appearances for the club, scoring 2 goals and recording 22 assists across five seasons.

Oczipka played a full 90 minutes in the final of last season's DFB Pokal as Frankfurt were defeated 2-1 by Borussia Dortmund, with goals from Ousmane Dembélé and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang preventing him from securing the first major honour of his career.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jack McGraghan
Sports Journalist from the University of Sunderland.