Schalke sign Schopf

Schalke have signed midfielder Alessandro Schopf from Nuremberg on a three-and-a-half year deal.

The Austria youth international, 21, joins the Bundesliga club after spending a season and a half in the second tier.

Schalke general manager Horst Heldt said the signing was perfect for Schalke, who sit sixth in the Bundesliga.

"We are happy that the transfer worked," he said.

"Alessandro is a versatile midfielder with great potential whose development is, at 21 years of age, far from complete.

"He fits perfectly with our philosophy."

Schopf, a former Bayern Munich youth player, left the Bavarian giants in 2014 and impressed for Nuremberg, scoring 11 league goals.