Merson says Kabak agent should be ‘knighted’, as defender closes on Liverpool transfer

Ozan Kabak TEAMtalk

Liverpool are closing in on a deal for Schalke’s Ozan Kabak, with Paul Merson claiming the defender’s agent needs a knighthood.

Sky in Germany claim Kabak has passed his medical in Gelsenkirchen and is now going through the finer details of a contract with Liverpool.

Liverpool are proposing a loan with an option to buy the 20-year-old in the summer.

Jurgen Klopp’s stance on transfers appeared to change recently after the injuries to Joel Matip and Fabinho. Michael Edwards has been working hard on a list of targets behind the scenes and Kabak is close to signing for the champions.

The Bundesliga side are insisting they sign a replacement before Kabak will be released though.

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi is the man they are chasing and the German is in talks.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson says Kabak “won’t believe his luck”.

 

Merson: Kabak's agent should be knighted!

Merson: Kabak's agent should be knighted!

Paul Merson says Ozan Kabak will consider himself rather fortunate if he does complete his proposed move to Premier League champions Liverpool.

 

“I feel they are just bringing a couple of bodies in. When Fabinho got injured, I feel that was the moment where they had to drop Jordan Henderson into defence. It’s just a case of getting bodies in. The top-drawer out there are going to be £70m-£80m players,” he told Sky.

“When you buy them, they will be on between £100,000 and £200,000-a-week. They won’t be playing in six months when Virgil van Dijk is fit and Joe Gomez is a very good player who will be one for the now. We can all spend the club’s money but at the end of the day, it’s a business. They are not expensive.

“The lad at Schalke won’t believe his luck. If you are his agent, you would be looking to get knighted! He has just gone to the champions… they have just one won game all season! That really did shock me. The lad at Preston is a decent player but it’s a massive jump. It’s just a case of getting bodies in.”

Liverpool are also set to announce the signing of Ben Davies from Preston for a fee of around £1.6m. The Reds will pay £500,000 up front with the remainder as add-ons for the 25-year-old.

Davies, who was in the final six months of his contract, was expected to leave Deepdale in the summer.

Celtic were understood to have agreed a pre-contract with the player and Neil Lennon has claimed the Hoops were “gazumped” by Liverpool.