Happy accident brings Deac to Schalke

FC Schalke 04 have signed midfielder and attacker Ciprian Deac on a three-year-deal from fellow UEFA Champions League aspirants CFR 1907 Cluj.

Having failed to lure Zvezdjan Misimović from VfL Wolfsburg, coach Felix Magath moved swiftly to snap up the 24-year-old Romanian international. "He can play in the attack, on the wing – right or left – and as a playmaker," he said. "After it became clear it would not work out with Misimović, we acted quickly and signed this huge Romanian talent." Capped five times by his country, Deac scored four goals in 67 league games for Romanian champions CFR.

Deac only came to Schalke's attention by accident, however, with Magath explaining: "We watched CFR several times when we were on the lookout for a forward. My assistant Bernd Hollerbach went there, but when he came back he was not talking about the striker we had our eye on, only about Deac." Schalke will face Olympique Lyonnais, SL Benfica and Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC in UEFA Champions League Group B.