Liverpool transfer news – Reds sign Ozan Kabak from Schalke, injured Joel Matip out for season

Updated 01/02/2021 at 22:51 GMT

Ozan Kabak arrives from Bundesliga basement club Schalke on loan, subject to international clearance. His arrival is timely after Liverpool also announced that Joel Matip will miss the rest of the season, joining Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez on the list of long-term absentees at Anfield.

Ozan Kabak of FC Schalke 04 looks on during the pre-season friendly match between FC Schalke 04 and Aris Thessaloniki at Stadion Kematen on August 28, 2020 in Kematen in Tirol

Image credit: Getty Images

Liverpool have signed Ozan Kabak from Schalke on loan until the end of the season.

Kabak is the club’s second defensive arrival on deadline day following the capture of Ben Davies from Preston North End.

The announcement was swiftly followed with news that Joel Matip will miss the remainder of the season due to an ankle ligament injury sustained in the 3-1 win at Tottenham.

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Fellow central defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are also long-term absentees, leaving the Reds with little choice but to act before the window closed.

Kabak's loan fee is reported to be around £2.5 million with an option to buy in the summer.

"As of today, I am no longer part of the wonderful Schalke 04 family, a place I had the privilege to call 'home' for one and a half years," Kabak said in a statement on Twitter.

"I have no doubt that Schalke 04 will soon reach the level of success this club deserves."

The 20-year-old completed the deal in Germany and will travel to Merseyside later this week to meet his new teammates.

Schalke have signed Shkodran Mustafi on a six-month contract as a replacement for Kabak. Mustafi's contract was terminated by Arsenal earlier on Monday.

'A young Mats Hummels?' - View from Germany

Tobias Hlusiak of Eurosport Germany calls Kabak a “calm” defender and adding that although he is a little raw “he has a lot of talent.”

Although Hlusiak doesn’t like to make comparisons, when pushed he says: “I would take a reach here and compare him to a young Mats Hummels, just considering his overall talent level and ability to score from set-pieces. [I am] talking about the year 2009, when Mats was still fast…”

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