Kenan Karaman hasn’t really arrived at Schalke yet. The attacker is finally hoping for more playing time against his former club TSG Hoffenheim.

After his move on Deadline Day, Kenan Karaman has only made three substitutions at S04 so far – the German-Turkish player has a total of three quarters of an hour on the clock this Bundesliga season. “You need a certain amount of time to get to know the team,” Karaman explained in an interview with WAZ about a slow start.

But now the 28-year-old sees the time to be on the field more often. “Now I have the procedures in place. I know how the boys move on the field and I know them better overall,” emphasized Karaman and underlined: “I feel in top shape.” A clear signal to Frank Kramer to finally let the attacker off the leash.

Should it work against TSG Hoffenheim with his starting eleven debut for Schalke, that would be something special for Karaman. “I went to boarding school there when I was young, went through the youth teams and became a professional there,” he explained of his relationship with the Kraichgauers, for whom he was active between 2009 and 2014.

Three points against his former club would be particularly important because the situation at Schalke is currently unsettled. Many fans and experts assume that Frank Kramer will have to go in the event of a defeat. “There’s always criticism when the results don’t come,” Karaman didn’t want to exaggerate the discussions. “Our head coach is very committed and always wants to make us better. Now it’s up to us to show the whole team what we’re going to do on Friday.” Maybe he’ll finally be allowed to play from the start.

This article was originally published on 90min.com as Kenan Karaman paws his hooves: “Feel in great shape”.