Liverpool are hoping to complete a transfer deadline day swoop for Schalke centre-back Ozan Kabak on an initial loan deal.
The 20-year-old will reportedly cost Liverpool £2m upfront until the end of the season and the clubs are in discussions over whether there will be an option or obligation to buy him in the summer.
Kabak had been linked with a £35m move to Liverpool last summer after Dejan Lovren’s sale to Zenit St Petersburg left them with just three senior central defenders, but Jurgen Klopp opted against signing a replacement.
That has proven to be a mistake with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez ruled out with long-term knee injuries and Joel Matip set for a spell on the sidelines with an ankle issue.
Jordan Henderson and Nat Phillips started in defence in Sunday’s 3-1 win over West Ham which has led to Liverpool going back in for Kabak and moving for Preston’s Ben Davies in a deal worth around £1.6m.
Kabak arrives at Anfield with a strong reputation but what kind of defender will Klopp be acquiring?
Career so far
Despite being only 20, Kabak has already squeezed plenty into his career to date, turning out for three major clubs already.
The Turkey international began his career with his country’s most successful club side Galatasaray, making 17 appearances for them before joining VFB Stuttgart in January 2019.
Kabak was a regular for Stuttgart upon his arrival making 15 Bundesliga appearances in the second half of the 2018-19 season and scoring three goals but he was unable to prevent them from dropping into 2. Bundesliga.
Schalke wasted little time in raiding Stuttgart for the defender, activating his €15m relegation release clause at the end of June. Kabak turned down an approach from Bayern Munich for his services believing that his development would be better served at Schalke where he would play consistently.
Although Schalke have endured a torrid time of late, even going 30 Bundesliga games without a win until beating Hoffenheim this month, Kabak has featured consistently for them, starting 35 league matches since the start of last season.
What’s his style of play?
“I would say my heading ability is good, because I scored a lot with my head before, at Galatasaray,” Kabak told the Bundesliga website last year. “I have good physicality, like pace and jumping.”
As a goalscoring return of six goals in 55 Bundesliga games indicates, Kabak is a major aerial asset which would be advantageous to Liverpool in both boxes. In the Bundesliga this season, Kabak has won 57/74 aerial duels (77 per cent).
Another metric in which Kabak has impressed is when it comes to clearances as he has made 55 which is more than any other Schalke player and ranks 20th of all players in the Bundesliga.
Of course, in a team like Liverpool’s, a defender’s role isn’t purely to defend. All of Liverpool’s central defenders – in particular Van Dijk – are excellent passers and have to be in a team that enjoys on average 60 per cent possession per Premier League game.
It is an aspect of Kabak’s game that has improved this campaign. He has completed 88 per cent of his passes in 2020-21, which represents a big jump from 81.5 per cent in 2019-20.
A potential question mark over Kabak is his temperament given he was banned for four matches in September for unsporting conduct after spitting at Werder Bremen’s Ludwig Augustinsson.
What’s been said about him?
“It’s incredible how worldy-wise he is for his age,” said VFB Stuttgart’s sporting director and former Premier League midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger. “It’s astonishing. I see him every day and am amazed at how he mature he is. He wants to know everything; he wants to learn German right away and understand everything. That’s the kind of attitude we need. He’s already a role model, despite his age.”
Schalke’s former head coach David Wagner said of Kabak: “He’s certainly one of the most talented defenders of his age in Europe. Everyone knows which teams made every effort to try and sign him.”
On Virgil Van Dijk…
Considering his status as one of, if not the best central defenders of his generation, it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that Van Dijk has a fan in Kabak.
“My personal aim is to become a top defender in maybe two or three years, like Virgil van Dijk. He’s my idol, I really like him,” Kabak said. “I like his style and how he plays, so I can say he’s my football idol.”
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