- Kabak loaned from Schalke: Davies costs £1.6m from Preston
- Jürgen Klopp forced to act after Joël Matip ruled out for season
Liverpool bolstered Jürgen Klopp’s central defensive options on deadline day with the signings of Ozan Kabak from Schalke and Ben Davies from Preston only to lose Joël Matip for the rest of the season with an ankle ligament injury.
The Premier League champions completed a loan move for Kabak, with an option to buy the 20-year-old Turkey international for an initial £18m in the summer, after gazumping Celtic with a £1.6m deal for Davies. The 25-year-old would have been out of contract at Preston at the end of the season and was destined for Glasgow until Liverpool moved in with an up-front payment of £500,000 plus £1.1m in bonuses. The Championship club will also receive 20% of a future sell-on fee for the left-sided central defender, who had loan spells at York, Tranmere, Southport, Newport and Fleetwood before establishing himself in Preston’s first team.
