As the clock crawls towards the end of the January transfer window, Liverpool have an issue. Virgil van Dijk, Joël Matip and Joe Gomez are all injured. Whilst Matip may be close to a return, Van Dijk will be lucky to play in April and Gomez will be lucky to play at all this season. With form now dwindling, Jürgen Klopp has been forced to dive into the transfer market, and he’s come out with a player he feels fits the task: Ozan Kabak.

Schalke 04 have conceded 49 goals in 19 games this season. Ozan Kabak has played a big part in the majority of those fixtures (14/19). Straight away this seems like something out of the panic-buy playbook, but is that really the case? Is Klopp taking a punt on a youngster, hoping he can develop him into a usable player? Or is this a more calculated deal, one Liverpool see as an incredibly smart piece of business? Remember, Andrew Robertson played for relegated Hull City before he moved to Anfield.

Rash and Reckless

When watching Kabak, it’s easy to see why he is the third most yellow-carded defender in the German top flight. Unlike the more measured, and needless to say imperious, Van Dijk, Kabak attacks the ball with untimely aggression. He prefers to tussle with forwards, using his 6'1" frame to almost throw the attacker away.