Cheeky Bustard or International Turkey, it’s all getting mighty ornithological around here
2 Likes
1 Like
I kind of expected we would do what the Italian clubs do on this.
2 Likes
With Konate supposedly on the way,VVD,Gomez and Matip getting back to fitness,Phillips already our player and making the step up,with money being tight and other parts of our squad need bolstering,i think sending Kabak back to Germany is the right move.
I think this move to us is about 2-3 years too early for him and us, he’s a decent young CB with potenial but he has too many mistakes in his game that need to be ironed out by playing full time in someone else’s team,now if covid never happened and fucked up our finances,in an ideal world i’d have bought him and loaned him out for a couple of seasons,then brought him back but we simply can’t afford to buy Konate AND waste £18mill on another CB,when we need to replace Gini and any others we sell like Shaqiri or Origi to strengthen the team in other area’s.
3 Likes
I feel sorry for the lad, he did all he could, but I’m sure he’ll get a decent move based off his performances here.
I do think Konate has the bigger potential though.
Best of luck and thanks for coming in and helping us recover!
5 Likes
another reporting it…
If we can secure a low ball offer for him rather than the £18m I’d still get him in, but it’s looking highly unlikely.
Makes you wonder what the story is with Ben Davies. Will we ever see him play? Unlike Ozan, he’s ours. Loan coming up I assume…
2 Likes
1 Like
This happens quite often when players transfer from the BL to the prem, their stats don’t follow.
After Werner’s first game here he said he wasn’t used to coming up against “zeze big massive defenders” in the BL.
3 Likes
He was 3rd most successful in Germany but 106th in Premier League.
Apparently Arsenals Sokritas had the same issue when he arrived here.
1 Like
Low key gutted for Ozan but once Phillips solidified himself as the fans favorite and Klopp bought into that mystique, and with Konate coming in, Kabak is the odd one out i suppose. Personally liked the lad but i guess, that last injury cost him the move to us .
3 Likes
Think he was always going to end up in this situation. Even if we plan on signing him it was always going to be good business to “send him back” and renegotiate the fee.
2 Likes
I didn’t expect us to sign him.
But he should have a number of options on the table. Schalke need the money and probably as soon as possible (on good enough terms of course).
He’s young, showed some decent aspects, he might be a good CB with time somewhere, but it’s not what we need at the moment and we’re really not in a financial situation to splash £60m on two CB’s.
Thank you Ozan and good luck in your future career.
3 Likes
It’s a strange situation, but while he didn’t shine here, it was a good shop window experience for him. If his alternative is to stay for another half season at a sinking Schalke, then Im sure this was the best option for him.
2 Likes
Maybe also a reason why Konate could be a better fit for us than Upamecano, even though I think the latter is a better player at the moment. Aerial ability matters more in the PL.
3 Likes
My take is he is simply not good enough.
He has come in and the benchmark was really low. Competing with a teenager and championship level player. Despite the difficult circumstances I saw a player closer in level to those players than VvD, Matip and Gomez.
The benchmark for me is if those players are fit could I see him competing for a place ? The answer is simply a no.
That means we would be paying £20M to add depth rather than competition. Whilst I am happy keeping Phillips for depth (another we all know is not good enough but can plug a hole if necessary) , I am less inclined with Kabak.
I wish him well, it was a marriage of convenience for both parties and his experience here should be a springboard for another club.
7 Likes
Oooof. That’s harsh.
I thought he did really to drop straight into a crisis defence, on the wrong side, at 20, and playing against his natural game.
5 Likes
Was he at Anfield on Sunday?