Schalke 04 sign Chelsea Abdul Rahman Baba on loan
Chelsea's Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa (right) celebrates with defender Baba Rahman after scoring his team's first goal during their English Premier League match against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on October 17, 2015. PHOTO | JUSTIN TALLIS |
What you need to know:
- Baba signed a five-year contract with Chelsea in 2015 and has made a total of 15 Premier League appearances for the Blues, featuring four times in the Champions League.
- He was part of the Ghana side that reached the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final, when his side lost to Ivory Coast on penalties.
BERLIN
Schalke 04 has signed Ghana international left-back Abdul Rahman Baba on loan from Chelsea for the coming season, both clubs confirmed on Tuesday.
Last season, Baba made 23 appearances for Chelsea, 19 of them starts, including his debut in the Champions League, but has been sent on loan by new Blues boss Antonio Conte to Schalke, who finished fifth in Germany's top flight last season.
"I spoke with the new Chelsea head coach and he told me that I would probably not to play very often in his system," explained Baba on the Schalke website.
"I want to be on the pitch, so I told the management in London that I wanted to transfer.
"I found a very good club in the form of Schalke 04 and I'm sure that I have made the right decision."
The 22-year-old spent the 2014/15 season with Augsburg, knows his way around German football after a stint with Greuther Fuerth and has played 51 Bundesliga games, plus 24 matches in Germany's second tier.
He worked with Schalke's head coach Markus Weinzierl while at Augsburg.
"Abdul is a strong attacking left back, one who I have a lot of faith in. He will fit in well here, because of his excellent attitude," said Weinzierl.
Baba signed a five-year contract with Chelsea in 2015 and has made a total of 15 Premier League appearances for the Blues, featuring four times in the Champions League.
He was part of the Ghana side that reached the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final, when his side lost to Ivory Coast on penalties.
Having already trained with his new team-mates, Baba says he has quickly found his feet in Gelsenkirchen.
"The lads have warmly welcomed me. I have enjoyed my time with the squad so far. I noticed from the very first training session that Schalke have a strong team with a lot of quality," said Baba.
"I already know Markus from my time at Augsburg, we get along really well and he has a lot of confidence in me, which is an important thing for any player."
The defender is relishing his return to Germany's top flight when Schalke play their first game of the season at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday August 27.
"Long balls are used a lot more often in the Premier League," said Baba.
"A lot more value is placed on the technical aspects of the game in Germany."
