Alex Král joins Schalke 04 for 2022/23

Following the sale of Rabbi Matondo to Rangers and now the signing of Král, it’s been a busy training camp for sporting director Rouven Schröder, who is excited to have the Czech Republic international on board: “Alex’s overall package is ideal for his position. Despite his height at 1.87 metres, he is very nimble, covers a lot of ground and has a decent top speed. He’s smart in his work off the ball, closes space well and is good at anticipating his opponents. He is also very experienced for a 24-year-old and his body language is very positive.”

“I’ve known Alex for a number of years, in particular from his time in the Czech Republic youth teams. His incredible understanding of the game should help us work the ball out of centre midfield, as he is very good at finding solutions under pressure. I’m delighted to be able to welcome him to our squad,” said head coach Frank Kramer.

The 24-year-old is also excited to start a new challenge with the Royal Blues: “I’m really looking forward to meeting my new teammates at the training camp and completing my first sessions out on the pitch. We have a big challenge ahead of us in one of the best leagues in Europe. We want and will prepare ourselves for it as best we can.”

Král spent much of his youth career at Slavia Prague before joining Spartak Moscow in 2019. Capped 31 times by the Czech Republic, the midfielder spent last season at West Ham United and has more than 140 competitive games’ worth of experience in England, Russia and the Czech Republic.