On February 1st 2021, Liverpool FC completed the transfer deadline day with the signing of 20-year-old Turkish centre-back Ozan Kabak from German Bundesliga side Schalke 04 on a £1 million loan deal with an option to buy for £18 million.
Ozan Kabak arrived in England after spending two years in the Bundesliga and his youth career and first senior season at Turkish Süper Lig side Galatasaray. He then played for VfB Stuttgart before signing for Schalke 04 in 2019.
Kabak has scored six goals in 76 appearances for club and country. The former Galatasaray player has also experienced Champions League football with the Turkish side and has played for the national team seven times.
Kabak will play a crucial part in Liverpool’s defence throughout the second half of the season as Joel Matip joins the Reds’ injury list of Fabinho, Joe Gomez and Virgil Van Dijk.
“Liverpool was my childhood team. So I always wanted to come to this club, to play at this amazing stadium, in front of these amazing fans. So it’s a dream for me. Now the dream comes true,” Ozan Kabak said in his first interview as a Liverpool player.
How will Ozan cope in the Premier League? Will The Reds sign him on a permanent deal? Only time will tell, but the fact that Liverpool’s leading centre-backs are expected to return by the summer means he would need to fight to secure a place in the starting eleven.