Ozan Kabak is well known to fans of both the Premier League and Bundesliga, given his spells with Stuttgart, Schalke, and Liverpool. Kabak is a highly rated prospect, still at just 21 years of age and already with a wide dearth of experience at the peak of European football.
Coming through the Galatasaray youth academy, Kabak seemed destined for great things when in January of 2019 Stuttgart paid £9.9 million for his services, only to have Schalke take him off their hands seven months later for £13.5 million. Kabak was able to escape the mess that unfurled at Schalke halfway through last season, coming over to the Premier League as Liverpool desperately looked to cover their shortage at the centre-back position.
Although he initially struggled to adapt to a new league and team, Kabak ended up playing significant minutes for the reds, but he wasn’t convincing enough in his position for Liverpool to make the loan signing permanent. Since his loan finished, Kabak was linked with a number of Premier League sides, before making another loan move, this time to Norwich City.
This tactical analysis and scout report will provide an in-depth analysis of Kabak’s abilities, whilst looking at the tactics that best suit a centre-back of his skill level.
Passing range
Kabak was used as a left-sided centre-back at Liverpool. Whilst he is right-footed, this showed a confidence in his ability with his weaker foot. He had had experience of playing in this position before, but equally was often used as a right-sided centre-back. This didn’t particularly inhibit his passing game at all, and he showed he could play his passes with his left foot, but any expansive balls played forward, or passes under severe pressure, were often played with his preferred foot.
Kabak didn’t show up as a particularly progressive defender when measured against his centre-back peers from last season’s data. Whilst he actually showed some flashes of dribbling ability to drive forward on attacking transition, taking the ball past one or two opponents before finding a pass option, this wasn’t a common occurrence, and it’s not surprising to see him ranking well below the league average for progressive runs per 90. Interestingly, he does rank below the league average for progressive passes per 90 too, however, if we look along the graph we can see him measuring an equal volume per 90 to Joel Matip. So, whilst his 6.432 progressive passes per 90 isn’t stunning by any means, it isn’t a cause for concern.
