Schalke close in on Bentaleb and Stambouli

Schalke are set to announce the double signing of Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Stambouli after agreeing deals with Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain respectively.

The midfield duo have both undergone medicals at the Bundesliga club and director of sport Christian Heidel expects both to be confirmed as Schalke players in the near future.

“We have an agreement in place with Tottenham, we expect him [Bentaleb] to participate in training this afternoon,” Heidel told a media conference.

“We are just waiting to sort the final paperwork to confirm the deal. Bentaleb is 100 per cent fit, but we need to be patient and give him a little time to integrate into the team.

“Stambouli has just had his medical. We will wait for the results and we are positive that everything will be in order.

“Our new recruits know each other from their time together at Tottenham. They will be good additions to the team.”

After breaking into the Tottenham first team in 2013, Bentaleb has slipped down the pecking order at White Hart Lane after ankle and knee problems, the 21-year-old only making five Premier League appearances last season.

Stambouli, 26, also had a frustrating time at Spurs and left for PSG in July 2015, and he was part of the Laurent Blanc side that won Ligue 1, making 39 appearances across all competitions.

However, with the return to fitness of Marco Verratti and the signing of Grzegorz Krychowiak, he has been deemed surplus to requirement by new boss Unai Emery.

One player not heading to the Veltins Arena, though, is Son Heung-min, despite the forward failing to hold down a regular starting spot at Tottenham.

Heidel added: “Son Heung-min is an excellent footballer. We know him from his time at Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, but he is nothing to do with us.”