Liverpool‘s deadline day capture of Turkish defender Ozan Kabak was initiated by the defender’s former club Schalke 04, according to their manager Christian Gross.
As reported by Swiss publication Blick, Gross has claimed that they offered the 20-year-old to the Premier League champions, with former Reds full-back Philipp Degen at the forefront of the negotiations. The ex-Tottenham manager explained:
He (Degen) is super networked in football. Without him, Mustafi would not have come to us. He came because Philipp called Jürgen Klopp. Because Philipp knew that Liverpool were looking for a central defender.
He asked whether Liverpool was interested in Ozan Kabak – so Philipp knew that Schalke could possibly give Kabak to Liverpool.
Having been linked with the central defender long before the loan deal was completed, it seems a little surprising that Liverpool did not initiate contact with the player as they desperately scrambled for reinforcements.
As we wait for the Turkey international to make his debut, having watched on from the bench as Jurgen Klopp’s side capitulated against Manchester City last weekend, Kabak has won 64% of his headers this season, higher than Virgil van Dijk’s return prior to his injury.
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Irrespective of whoever instigated Kabak’s arrival on Merseyside, we can all just be thankful that he made the move, given the relentless injury woes endured by the Reds this season.
Given Degen’s rather inauspicious playing career at Anfield, his hand in helping the Reds sign a much-needed defender may perhaps be his finest act for the club.
