Schalke sports director Jochen Schneider has revealed that the German club would love the opportunity to retain the services of Arsenal left-back Sead Kolasinac beyond the end of this season.
With opportunities proving hard to come by at the Emirates Stadium this term, the Bosnia & Herzegovina international joined former club Schalke on loan for the rest of the season last month.
Since returning to Veltins-Arena last month, Kolasinac has racked up six appearances in all competitions, as he looks to try and help them pull off the great escape and avoid relegation from Germany's top flight for the first time since 1998.
As well as that, the defender, who spent five years on the books of the Bundesliga outfit before joining Arsenal in 2017, has been handed the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband.
Although Kolasinac has only helped Schalke record one clean sheet in his first six appearances since returning, he is a popular figure at the club, with sports director Schneider keen to keep hold of him beyond the end of the season.
But if Schalke are to stand any chance of making their wish a reality, they will have to avoid the drop - a task which looks almost impossible considering they have won just one of their 20 league games this season and have a paltry eight points to their name.
“That is our absolute dream,” Schneider told RUHR 24 when asked if they would like to keep hold of the left-back. "He’s an incredibly good guy, lives for the club, pushes and pulls the cart. Sead embodies Schalke like no other.
“Of course, it is our wish to keep him until the end of his career and beyond.”
Considering Schalke would need to go on a terrific run of form to survive the drop, it seems unlikely that they will achieve the impossible, scuppering their hopes of keeping hold of Kolasinac.
As well as that, the club has struggled in a financial sense in recent months because of the troubles brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Kolasinac will enter the final year of his Arsenal contract this summer, meaning the Gunners would more than likely be willing to offload him this summer in the hope of receiving a fee for him, opposed to losing him for free 12 months later.
The Gunners have already earmarked a left-back as a primary target for the summer, suggesting Kolasinac has no future remaining at the Emirates Stadium.
