Liverpool transfer chief Michael Edwards has sealed £12m masterstroke in Ozan Kabak deal

Liverpool: Ozan Kabak in profile

Liverpool rarely do major deadline day transfer business. The double signing of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez a decade ago, in response to Fernandes Torres’ late £50million move to Chelsea, was perhaps the most notable incoming business they have done shortly before the window closes – before today. Over the past 24 hours, the Reds have reacted to their growing injury crisis to land Ben Davies from Preston North End and Ozan Kabak from Schalke.

Davies is a low-cost addition to boost the numbers while Kabak is likely to be the player who gets more minutes of the pair and the two arrivals together may even allow the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to return to midfield, though the midfielders have shone when stepping into the back-line.

Liverpool hope to have Fabinho back from an apparently minor muscle problem for Sunday’s clash with Manchester City while Joel Matip has sustained ankle ligament damage and the club have yet to release details of the Cameroonian’s problem. Davies and Kabak both arriving on deadline day may well precede negative news about Matip’s expected lay-off.

But Liverpool now no longer have to count solely on captained Henderson and the inexperienced duo of Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams for as long as Fabinho and Matip are absent, and the signing of Kabak in particular is excellent business.

Question marks have been raised about the 20-year-old given Schalke’s struggles but he is a defender who has long been liked by Liverpool’s recruitment team, and the Premier League champions have got very little wrong in the transfer market under Jurgen Klopp.

It is easy to forget that Andy Robertson and Gini Wijnaldum were brought in from relegated Hull City and Newcastle United teams. Their team’s struggles did not deflect from their individual quality, as it is hoped by Liverpool will be the case with Kabak.

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Liverpool transfer chief Michael Edwards has sealed £12m masterstroke in Ozan Kabak deal (Image: GETTY)

The profile of the player suggests he should have no problems adjusting to the physicality and intensity of the Premier League because he is capable on the ground and in the air. He is a proactive front-footed defender who should be able to adjust to Liverpool’s high line and the fact he will see far more of the ball now than he did at Schalke.

Sporting director Michael Edwards is renowned for being one of the shrewdest operators in football and in the signing of Kabak, he has pulled off yet another masterstroke, although the player still has plenty to improve on as is natural given his age.

The Turkish centre-half, who plays on the right side, arrives on loan at a cost of around £1million, with the fee for his temporary switch potentially being raised by another £500,000 in bonuses.

Liverpool then have the option after his six-month spell on Merseyside to make the deal permanent at the cost of around £18m.

And Bundesliga expert Chris Williams says that is £12m lower than the fee Liverpool were quoted for Kabak only back in September, after Dejan Lovren departed for Zenit St Petersburg but before the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez suffered long-term injuries.

Liverpool transfer chief Michael Edwards has sealed £12m masterstroke in Ozan Kabak deal (Image: GETTY)

Williams insists the deal partly owes to Schalke’s financial troubles, which may only worsen with relegation to the Bundesliga 2 appearing likely later this season.

Yet Edwards undoubtedly deserves credit for negotiating such a figure when, with time running out, it would have been expected Liverpool may have been held to ransom by clubs.

Before turning to Kabak, Liverpool looked at Marseille’s Duje Caleta-Car, Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba and David Carmo of Braga among others as they sought the most suitable option.  

They found it in Kabak and the signing of the Turkey international is a low-risk one and represents great business, because Liverpool have the option to pursue those other aforementioned players – or fellow long-term targets Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate both of RB Leipzig – if it does not work out.

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Even fast food chain KFC were impressed by Edwards’ negotiating skills, their UK and Ireland account tweeting on Monday evening: “Michael Edwards could walk into a KFC for a Snackbox but end up walking out with the secret recipe, two of our fryers and the shirt off my back.”

Kabak will be desperate to impress and he will certainly get his minutes between now and the end of the season with 17 more Premier League matches to come and a pair of Champions League last-16 ties against RB Leipzig also on the agenda.

Liverpool transfer chief Michael Edwards has sealed £12m masterstroke in Ozan Kabak deal (Image: GETTY)

And if he does well, Liverpool may have their long-term fourth centre-back option and a player who can eventually blossom into a replacement for the likes of Matip and Van Dijk, who are both 29.

If it does not go as well as hoped, the Reds are free to send Kabak back to Schalke having only spent a maximum of £1.5m plus the player’s wages and chase an alternative addition, with Upamecano and Konate probably the most desirable additions.

Given less than a week ago Klopp suggested business was unlikely, before Fabinho and Matip suffered fresh setbacks, that Liverpool have managed to wrap up Kabak and also Davies at such low prices in such quick time is impressive.

Now Liverpool supporters will be keenly awaiting their first glimpse of the duo, and Kabak in particular, on the pitch. It remains to be seen when they will get their first opportunities, though perhaps after Wednesday’s clash with Brighton and Sunday’s mouthwatering encounter with City.

But the club’s history of Liverpool’s signings with Klopp and Edwards overseeing the recruitment suggests the two could be the latest in a long line of smart acquisitions.