Wearing a smart blue suit and a broad grin, Edin Dzeko walked out of Schalke's offices into the blazing 35-degree midday sun, where a young fan in the new home shirt grabbed the first photo after his signature. Schalke 04 still had a string of internal appointments to get through before they could officially announce the Bosnian star striker's contract extension until 2027 later in the afternoon, including the team photo for the new season.
Activity around Berger Feld was just as busy at the start of the week. One deal got over the line, another fell apart at the final hurdle, while World Cup participant Nikola Katic worked hard on his comeback at Medicos and Robin Gosens and Dejan Ljubicic were both forced to stop for the time being through injury.
Dzeko, though, is fully fit again after his shoulder injury, which had partly slowed him down in the run-in to the season and at the World Cup. Following Bosnia and Herzegovina's World Cup exit in the round of 32, a 0-2 defeat against the USA, he is ready to make his mark again in Germany's top flight, 15 years after his last Bundesliga appearance for Wolfsburg.
"Winning promotion to the Bundesliga is one of the highlights of my career. That was extraordinary," said Dzeko after extending his contract: "I'm still hungry. And I want to help our team in the Bundesliga as well."
Frank Baumann, the board member for sport, visited him on holiday, while coach Miron Muslic, captain Kenan Karaman and his Bosnia international team-mate Katic all wrote to and called Dzeko. New signing Gosens, who knows Dzeko from their time together in Florence and Milan, had also spoken publicly in glowing terms: "Edin is a fine person, a great footballer. It is my personal wish that it works out."
Jesper Lindström had already been in Gelsenkirchen
For now, though, a joint appearance looks unlikely because Gosens picked up a thigh injury in the friendly in Kassel, a 5-0 win, at the weekend. Schalke gave no details on the exact length of his absence, while Bild reported it would be several weeks. Playmaker Dejan Ljubicic, who limped off on Saturday in the second half, suffered only a "minor calf injury" and will sit out training only temporarily. Katic is due to return to team training on Tuesday together with Dzeko.
Overnight, the first major stir had already spread. Bild first reported that the transfer of former Frankfurt player Jesper Lindström, who had already been in Gelsenkirchen since the weekend, had collapsed. Sky later reported that negotiations with Napoli had failed after the Italians repeatedly failed to stick to verbal agreements. One point of dispute, according to the report, was whether the loan deal should include an option to buy or an obligation to buy.
Muslic still has three full weeks on the training ground and two real acid tests before the first competitive match arrives, away to Regionalliga side Hallescher FC in the DFB Cup. As part of "Schalke-Tach", S04 host Italian top team Atalanta Bergamo on Saturday, while a week later Real Madrid's star-studded side will mark the Veltins-Arena's 25th anniversary.