Former Liverpool Defender Ozan Kabak Could Move to Premier League Rivals
Former Liverpool Defender Ozan Kabak Could Move to Newcastle - Sports Illustrated Liverpool FC News, Analysis, and More Skip to main content
Kabak close to Schalke, Milan and Bayern expected to counter
2019-27-06 - 13:15 Over the last couple of days you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was a straight race between Bayern Munich and Milan for Stuttgart defender Ozan Kabak. But now according to multiple sources in Germany, the Turkish centre-back has agreed to join Schalke next season. Schalke will see this as a great coup to seal the transfer of one of the most in demand teenagers of the transfer window, and can thank club director Michael Reschke for the chance to sign the wonderkid. Reschke brought Kabak to Stuttgart from Galatasaray in January, and worked on the contract that included the €15m release clause, before he moved to Schalke and then activated the release clause at his new club. The presence of the man who helped bring him from Turkey to the Bundesliga is also said to have helped Kabak to decide on taking the move to Schalke. Kabak seems to have also been swayed by the promise of regular first team football, but the finances of the deal will also have played a part in helping him to make up his mind. The offer presented by Schalke is thought to exceed those of both Milan and Bayern Munich, and that coupled with the reasons above seem to have swayed the youngster to accept the move. While we are yet to hear any official announcement on the subject, the next few hours are expected to be fundamental, as we will see if Milan or Bayern respond to Schalke’s late swoop by upping their offer for the young defender, but at the moment he is theirs to lose.
Ozan Kabak: Who is Schalke's rising defensive star?
Ozan Kabak "idolises" Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, plays rather like Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos and has attracted interest from Bayern Munich, among others. bundesliga.com takes a closer look at the imposing Schalke and Turkey centre-back... Ozan Kabak Age: 20Club: SchalkePosition: Centre-backCountry: Turkey (One cap) Key stats Kabak joined the Galatasaray youth academy at the age of 11 and went on to make 14 first-team appearances for the club, 13 of which fell in the first half of the 2018/19 campaign. He linked up with VfB Stuttgart during the winter break, and ended 2018/19 as the youngest first-team regular in the Bundesliga alongside Jadon Sancho (both were born on 25 March 2000) - not to mention the Rookie of the Season. Following VfB's relegation to the second tier, Schalke made their move in summer 2019, clearly impressed by his average of one interception every eight minutes and three goals in 15 games from centre-back. Watch: A look back at Ozan Kabak's best work in Stuttgart colours Kabak played in 26 Bundesliga matches for his new club in 2019/20. He won the most challenges of any of his teammates, and chimed in with another three goals, as well as one assist. Already a seasoned youth international, the Ankara native duly earned his senior debut in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying win over Andorra in November 2019, completing the full 90 minutes. Four bookings across the entire league campaign, meanwhile, speaks to a player who likes to keep things clean. Indeed, the 6'1" defender has never been sent off in over 60 competitive appearances at club level. Plays a bit like: Sergio Ramos Kabak has a sound in-game radar and a deceptively quick turn of pace
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