Schalke director Jochen Schneider has refused to rule out selling Liverpool-linked centre-back Ozan Kabak amid an “economically challenging” situation at the Veltins Arena, speaking to WAZ.
The crisis-hit German giants have been hit harder than most by an ongoing financial catastrophe that continues to spread its tentacles across the European game.
But could Liverpool take advantage of an increasingly strained situation at a Schalke side that’s toiling on and off the pitch during a 22-game winless run?
90Min reports Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League champions have identified a handful of talented young centre-halves as a potential replacement for the stricken Virgil van Dijk.
And Turkey international Kabak is one of the chosen five.
In July, DW suggested Schalke were dealing with debts in the region of £180 million and, if Liverpool come calling, they may have no choice but to listen to offers for their prized asset.
“Ozan is simply a great player. He was one of the few bright spots even after the restart in May. Now he will help us to become even more stable defensively,” Schneider said, before confirming the interest of an Italian giant.
“AC Milan knocked at the very end of the transfer period in the summer, which was out of the question for us.
“We are still in economically challenging times, which you can see from the fact this season may have to be played to the end without any spectators. I cannot and do not want to rule out anything.”
WAZ adds that Kabak has a £40 million release clause in his contract, which will come into effect next summer.
The 20-year-old hasn’t exactly set the world alight in his two Bundesliga appearances in 2020/21, however, suffering 8-0 and 3-1 defeats to Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen respectively before going down with an injury.
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