Schalke 04 have to make do with many loans and short-term contracts this season as well. The starting position in the next transfer summer is correspondingly uncertain, when some players could already leave the club again.

If a club changes its league affiliation several times within a very short period of time, it is extremely difficult to form a squad that is stable and does not have to change in large parts again and again.

Schalke is in exactly the same position. Two years ago still in the Bundesliga, then relegation to league two and last summer the return. Now there is a risk of going into the second class again next summer. The result: Those responsible have to work with many loans and also short-term contracts.

This in turn means that a complete team can never really form because there have to be changes in the squad again and again. A scenario that will most likely repeat itself at the end of the current season.

After all, royal blue can already look to numerous players whose loan expires at the end of the season, or whose contracts only partially end for one or two years. The WAZ has now reported on the results to be expected in each case.

Almost all loan players have a rather pessimistic starting position, because relegation seems much more likely than staying up.

In the case of Tom Krauss, for example, the procedure is already clear: if Schalke keeps the class, then the obligation to buy applies and he stays. However, if he does not succeed in staying up, he will return to RB Leipzig and leave his favorite club again. Renegotiation in this case seems unrealistic.

A similar picture emerges for Sepp van den Berg and Alex Kral: both are on loan without an option to buy. With the end of the season, your time with the miners also ends. A stay beyond that could not be ruled out, but a renewed descent would bury this hope early. Even if they stay up, it would be difficult to keep them.

Alexander Schwolow is also only on loan. Although there is no purchase option for him either, the situation is different to Kral and van den Berg. The reason: Schalke is not really satisfied with the keeper. According to the WAZ, there have also been no talks regarding a possible whereabouts. One way or another, he will probably leave the club again in the summer.

Logically, the current contracts can be seen with significantly less black-and-white thinking. For example Maya Yoshida: He is only tied to S04 for the current season. However, he had already named a contract extension as one of his goals in the summer. According to the report, with his performances in the second half of the season, it is up to him whether he gets another offer.

His defensive colleague Timothée Kolodziejczak, on the other hand, has significantly worse cards. In any case, he was only committed due to the interim shortage of personnel. Now that the return of some defenders is imminent, he will have little prospect of deployment - and at the same time an expiring contract.

According to the WAZ, Michael Langer will probably not be renewed again. However, the keeper will not leave Schalke, he will stay at the club. He is already taking on tasks off the field. Apparently, Dominick Drexler has not yet made a decision. But one thing is clear: he will be 33 years old at the end of the season. It is questionable whether S04 would continue to count on him.

And Simon Terodde's working paper also ends with this season. It is said that he would identify very much with Schalke. So he would hardly want to go on his own. An extension appears to be more likely in the event of relegation than in the case of relegation.

There are two special cases with Rodrigo Zalazar and Thomas Ouwejan. According to WAZ, they don't see their future in league two - which isn't a big surprise.

Should the Gelsenkircheners have to start their way down again, a sale can be expected for both willy-nilly. After all, it would be income that the club could put into the squad upheaval that would be necessary again. However, especially with Zalazar, an identification figure and a fan favorite would also go.

This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Schalke threaten to leave: The prospect of expiring contracts.