Schalke will not know whether Liverpool intend to turn Ozan Kabak’s loan deal into a permanent one until May at the latest.
That’s according to Fussball Transfers, who say the Reds have an option on the Turkish defender until that point.
Kabak has been on loan with the Premier League champions since January, when he was brought in as a last-minute addition after Joel Matip’s injury left them in the lurch defensively.
After a difficult start, he has established himself in the heart of Jürgen Klopp’s side, and recent reports have indicated they are planning to activate their option to sign him permanently.
FT pull that back slightly today, and say that while they have the option for a rumoured €20m, it’s not been decided if they will do activate it.
According to their information Schalke ‘will be certain’ how things are going with Kabak ‘by the end of May at the latest’.
Until that point, Liverpool ‘will have time’ to decide whether they want to take Kabak permanently or send him back to Schalke.
If it’s the latter, the German side will have to find a buyer elsewhere, and his price will be ‘freely negotiable’.
The website states that ‘as things stand,’ it’s likely Liverpool will take the centre-back, citing reports from England about Klopp’s satisfaction with the 21-year-old.
It seems the decision is still up in the air, though, which might explain the recent spate of rumours about RB Leipzig star Ibrahima Konaté.
