Schalke look to strengthen

Schalke boss Felix Magath has stated his intentions of bringing Brazilian forward Julio Baptista to Germany.

After finishing only five points off title winners Bayern Munich last time out, Schalke only needed to add a little more firepower to challenge for the league more strongly this season.

The first order of business for Magath this summer was to secure the signing of Spain’s all time leading scorer and genuine legend, Raul from Real Madrid. The Spanish side have since strengthened and are hoping to close the gap on current La Liga champions Barcelona. The latest La Liga odds suggest it will be a tightly-fought race.

Meanwhile, Schalke are now hoping to team Raul up with his former Real team-mate Baptista.

Magath has made it clear he is chasing the striker by declaring "Julio Baptista is a good player, the rebuilding of the club has just started. If we want to fulfil our expectation we need new quality inside the squad. We could use some more signatures.”

After a decent first season in Italy with Roma, Baptista suffered a difficult second campaign in the capital, starting only four games in Serie A, scoring a meagre three goals.

Baptista has proven his quality ever since he was first brought to Europe by Sevilla in 2003. His prolific scoring record with Sevilla convinced Real to make a move for the player. During a three year spell in the Spanish capital, Baptista won the La Liga title in 2008 before spending time at Arsenal and then being sold to Roma.

The 28 year old is under contract with Roma until 2012 but his club have made it known they would be willing to listen to offers for the player. Schalke look to be in the lead to sign the Samba boy and if they do, they will see their chances of winning the title in the Bundesliga odds significantly strengthen.