Schalke interested in signing Obasi

Schalke 04 are reported to be interested in signing Hoffenheims Nigerian forward Chinedu Obasi to replace Perus Jefferson Farfan, who suffered a serious knee injury last month.Obasi, 25, is under contract with Hoffenheim until 2014, but after a bout of injuries this season, he is no longer first choice at Hoffenheim while ex-Liverpool striker Ryan Babbel has played in all 16 league matches so far.I like Hoffenheim, they allowed me to progress, but I think it is time to change, Obasi, who is estimated to be worth around seven million euros, told Bild.Earlier in a separate interview with mtnfootball.com, the Holland 2005 U-20 World Cup finalist indicated an interest to move on.He said, Honestly, anything can happen. I think its time for me (to move on) because I have been in Hoffenheim for four years. I really love the club because they helped me in my growing up as a football player but somehow I think its time for me to make a change.Lets just see what happens next year but at the moment, I am appreciative playing football again. My team supported me when I was injured but I think anything can happen anytime soon.Farfan suffered a knee injury in November playing for Peru against Ecuador and is expected to be out until at least January.With the transfer window set to open in January, Schalke have also expressed interest in signing German striker Lukas Podolski from Cologne, where he is under contract until 2013.Super Eagles forward Obasi is however reported injured and will be out for the rest of the year.Obasi injured his knee last week in training and has been ruled out of action for three weeks which effectively rules him out of the remaining games in the Bundesliga for the rest of the year as well as a DFB Cup game against Augsburg on December 20.The Nigerian only returned to full training with the rest of his colleagues after he was suspended alongside Brazilian teammate Firmino for reporting late for training.Obasi was subsequently dropped from the Hoffenheim squad that lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen last Friday at the BayArena in Leverkusen.
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