Liverpool: 3 reasons signing Ozan Kabak is a stroke of genius

1. A legendary defender rates Ozan Kabak highly

Ozan Kabak isn’t just praised by German and Turkish football fans or amateur scouts. No, one of the greatest center backs in the history of European football has tried to sign the 20-year-old on multiple occasions.

Milan’s technical director Paolo Maldini has consistently shown interest in Kabak, who was linked to the Rossoneri in both the Fall and winter of 2020, as well as the previous summer. In the end, Kabak is headed to an even bigger club in Liverpool, as Milan, currently first in Serie A, don’t need another center-back after settling for Chelsea’s Fikayo Tomori on loan with the duo of Simon Kjaer and Alessio Romagnoli already established.

Maldini’s interest in Kabak has to pique the interest of Liverpool fans because it’s another thing entirely for a center back with Maldini’s credentials to value a young defender. Milan even tried to sign Kabak the year he moved to Schalke, but the player chose to stay in the Bundesliga. If he flourishes in the Premier League with Liverpool, his decision will still have looked good in hindsight, even as Milan hold firm at the top of Serie A while Schalke flounder.

Kabak has a long way to go before he can be called a consistent star in central defense, but he has the tools. Maldini’s tacit endorsement of the young defender is a small but significant positive for Liverpool fans to remember as a successful January transfer window comes to a close.