Liverpool Increase Kabak Loan Fee to Ensure Purchase Option

With Shkodran Mustafi having terminated his Arsenal contract and set to join Bundesliga trailers Schalke on a six-month deal, the path is clear for Liverpool to sign promising 20-year-old centre half Ozan Kabak.

The one hold up remaining is that Schalke would like for there to be a purchase obligation of around £20-25M at the end of an initial six-month loan, while Liverpool are determined that it only be a purchase option.

According to The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano, though, a compromise has been reached that will see the Reds pay a higher loan fee to take Kabak for the initial six months in order to ensure that it is a purchase option.

It’s a move that will give the English club more freedom, with The New York Times’ Rory Smith previously claiming the club’s top centre half target for the summer was RB Leipzig’s 21-year-old star Ibrahima Konaté.

For the Reds, paying more now means getting to see Kabak in action for the next six months, at which point they will be free to exercise the purchase option or go ahead with their original summer plans.