According to The Mail, Liverpool have made their interest in 20-years-old Schalke centre-back Ozan Kabak known to his club and representatives, amid Dejan Lovren’s exit.
The youngster had previously been linked with a move to Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.
Kabak had his formative years at Galatasaray developmental youth setup at the tender age of 11. He later went ahead to make 14 senior appearances for the club during 2018/2019 campaign.
VfB Stuttgart signed Turkey international during the winter transfer window and he ended 2018/19 season with the crown as the Rookie of the Season.
Owing to his impressive performances for Stuttgart, Schalke signed him up on 30th June 2019 for a fee of €15 million.
His performances has earned a lot of praises from his teammate, manager and also from his club’s Sporting director. Schalke head coach, David Wagner reveals that: “He’s certainly one of the most talented defenders of his age in Europe.”
Stuttgart sporting director, Thomas Hitzlsperger expressed his admiration of the youngster’s enthusiasm, passion and commitment, stating that: “It’s incredible how worldy-wise he is for his age. It’s astonishing. I see him every day and am amazed at how 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.”
Stuttgart midfielder, Gonzalo Castro says: “He’s got a lot of potential. He’s still very young. You could see in the game against Hannover that he’s got a lot of talent. He’s very laid back, very calm and doesn’t let the club’s current situation [in a relegation fight] bother him. He’s definitely got the talent to play at a big club.”
Ozan Kabak is the kind of player that his style of play can be compared with Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos. He’s strong, athletic and has an incredible pace. His positioning, reading of the game and last ditch tackles are part of his obvious strengths which has helped him to be a remarkable defender.
He has aerial prowess and uses that to great effect due to his height, standing over 6ft tall. He’s a threat at both end of the pitch, with 4 of his 6 Bundesliga goals being scored with his head.
Liverpool cashed-in on Lovren, who just signed a €12million deal with Russian side Zenit St-Petersburg.
Lovren joined the Liverpool in 2014, amassing 185 appearances, winning the Premier League, Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup in his last 14 months at Anfield.
With the exit of Lovren, Liverpool have identified Ozan Kabak as a perfect replacement to fill the void being left by Lovren but his sizeable transfer fee, which is said to be around £40million looks to be an hindrance in signing the youngster this summer unless the Bundesliga side lower their valuation.
