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Liverpool are ready to exercise their option to buy Turkish defender Ozan Kabak at the end of the season.
Kabak moved to Merseyside from Schalke on loan in January as Jurgen Klopp looked for solutions to his defensive injury crisis. He had a difficult start to his time at Anfield, but has since settled down and proven himself with a series of assured performances.
When he signed, Liverpool paid an initial loan fee of £1.5 million but negotiated an option to acquire him permanently for £18 million, a figure which could rise to £26.5 million when add-ons and bonuses are taken into account.
The Premier League champions are hoping to negotiate these figures down because Schalke, who seem destined for relegation from the Bundesliga, are cash strapped and in desperate need of funds.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.