Bernard Tekpetey: Ghanaian ‘thankful’ to rejoin Schalke
By Oluwashina Okeleji |BBC Sports|
Ghana’s Bernard Tekpetey has returned to German club Schalke from rivals SC Paderborn, just 11 months after he joined the newly-promoted side.
The 21-year-old is going back to the Royal Blues after they activated their buy-back option.
Tekpetey, who moved to Germany in 2016, scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 32 second-tier appearances to help SC Paderborn seal Bundesliga promotion.
“I will like to thank the coaching staff, management team, players, Physio/team doctors,” Tekpetey wrote on social media.
“Also a big thanks to SC Paderborn fans for their support. God bless everyone.”
Tekpetey joined Schalke in 2016 from the UniStar Soccer Academy in his native country and featured for the club’s U-23s side.
He then moved up to the first team squad in the summer of 2016, going on to make two Bundesliga appearances and one Europa League appearance for the club.
Tekpetey joined Austrian top tier side SCR Altach for the 2017/18 season and made 10 league appearances, scoring one goal.
His time in Austria was overshadowed by a two-match ban after he was sent off for his reaction to alleged racist insults during an Austrian Cup tie.
He played twice for the Black Stars as they reached the last four at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
