Benjamin Stambouli has left Paris Saint-Germain after a single season with the French champions to join Schalke.
The midfielder only moved to Parc des Princes from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported £6 million fee last summer but failed to cement a regular place in the starting XI under Laurent Blanc -- who has now departed.
Unai Emery's arrival in Paris to replace Blanc has coincided with the signing of Poland international Grzegorz Krychowiak, while Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi and Adrien Rabiot were ahead of him in the pecking order anyway.
Youth academy graduates Christopher Nkunku and Lorenzo Callegari have also emerged as options at senior level, meaning competition for places in the PSG midfield was too fierce for Stambouli.
Details sind noch zu klären. Aber: Benjamin #Stambouli stand heute schon mit den neuen Teamkollegen auf dem Platz. pic.twitter.com/dp1G7pF8xz
- FC Schalke 04 (@s04) August 26, 2016
The Frenchman had been expected to join Real Betis and AC Milan reportedly showed an interest in the former Montpellier man as well, but Schalke ultimately won the race for his signature.
Stambouli has signed a four-year contract in Gelsenkirchen and the fee taking him to Veltins-Arena is believed to have been in the region of between €8-10m.
Les Parisiens' former No. 4 featured in the 4-1 Trophee des Champions victory over Lyon but was left out of Emery's 19-man squad entirely for the 1-0 win away at Bastia on the opening day of the new Ligue 1 season and the 3-0 home win over Metz.
The man from Marseille -- something which did not add to his popularity with PSG supporters -- made 40 appearances across all competitions in his time in the French capital, failing to score a single goal or provide an assist.
Stambouli will be hoping for greater stability with Schalke after unsuccessful spells with Spurs and PSG.
