Patrick van Straaten hosted a recent edition of Transfer Talk on the Football Daily YouTube channel and during the show, he spent some time discussing the reports linking Liverpool with a move for Schalke defender Ozan Kabak and he shared his thoughts on this potential transfer.
Centre-back Dejan Lovren recently departed from Anfield for £7.65m, according to Transfermarkt and one man who Jurgen Klopp is reportedly lining up as a potential replacement for the Croatian is Turkey international Kabak, as per German publication Bild.
This potential transfer was discussed during the latest edition of Football Daily’s Transfer Talk, with host Van Straaten saying: “Schalke have endured a difficult Bundesliga campaign that saw them limp into 12th place after a disastrous end to the season saw them fail to win in 14 matches. The lack of European competition revenue and impact of the [pandemic] has left the Gelsenkirchen side struggling financially and facing the prospect of selling their best young players.
“Kabak looks most likely to leave, as despite Die Konigsblauen’s issues, the Turkish international still had a quality campaign. He made 26 appearances and even scored three times, while his passing ability and combative approach won him plenty of fans.
“One of those admirers is Jurgen Klopp. But as always, there will be competition for his signature. Manchester City, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund have all been linked with the 20-year-old – but the key to the deal could be Klopp’s good relationship with Schalke manager David Wagner.”
After discussing some of the reports linking Kabak with a move to the Merseyside club, Van Straaten went on to say that: “with the Premier League’s return just seven weeks away, Kabak’s future could become clear very soon.”
Do you think that Liverpool will sign Ozan Kabak this summer?
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TIF Thoughts…
Considering that the Reds have sold Lovren, it may not come as a surprise if they do target a centre-back in the transfer market this summer and as Van Straaten explained, Kabak performed impressively for Schalke last season. He made the joint-fourth highest number of interceptions (1.4), played the sixth-highest number of long balls (3.3) and won the third-highest number of aerial duels (2.9) per game of any Schalke player in the Bundesliga during the 2019/20 campaign, as per WhoScored.
With that in mind, it may be understandable if Kabak’s impressive performances caught the eye of Reds boss Klopp and if Van Straaten is right in saying that the Turkish defender’s “future could become clear very soon” then this could be an exciting story for Liverpool supporters to keep an eye on.