Schalke sign Dzeko from Fiorentina to bolster promotion hopes

Veteran striker Edin Dzeko has signed with Bundesliga 2 side Schalke until the end of the season, the German club announced on Thursday. 

The Bosnia and Hercegovina captain has been brought in to boost Schalke's promotion hopes amid a flagging attack.

Schalke are four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga 2 table but have scored just 22 goals in 18 games -- only three teams in the league have scored fewer.

Former Manchester City and Inter Milan forward Dzeko, 39, joins from Serie A side Fiorentina, where he had played a bit-part role this season. 

"Since their initial interest, I've been following the club and have watched several Schalke games," Dzeko said in a statement, adding that "it's very impressive how the team has developed this season after some difficult years."

Seven-time German champions, although not since 1958, Schalke have been relegated twice in the past decade, most recently at the end of the 2022-23 season.

A title-winner with Wolfsburg in 2009, Dzeko scored 85 goals in 142 matches in Germany and was the Bundesliga's top scorer in 2010 before moving to City, where he won two Premier League titles.