Kabak knew that his future would not always be in Germany. At the age of twenty he had become almost a defense institution at Schalke , so much so that anyone really liked him. Interest came for him from England and Italy: what to choose?
Juve and Inter
A nice dilemma, which starts from far away. In January 2019, he was still at Galatasaray when Juventus and Inter came forward. And by "coming forward" we do not mean surveys, but real negotiations: both declared their intention to pay the 7.5 million euros clause to get to the player. Nothing is done about it, because Stuttgart offers 11 million, that is the figure of the clause plus another 3.5 million euros. He was sold to the highest bidder. The Italians then bet on other players else ( Juve, for example, bases the Demiral operation with Sassuolo ) and the doors of the Bundesliga are wide open for Kabak.
Six months pass and Ozan Kabak has his bags ready again. Destination Italy? AC Milan is already there looking for him. Maldini and Massara (who already had the player on his list when he was in Roma) call Gardi , the Italian partner of the Turkish agents. “It can be done, ” they are told, but there is already some competition. The duel is with Schalke 04 : the Rossoneri equalise the offer of the Germans for the payment of the 15 million clause in case of relegation of Stuttgart, the player accepts but the relaunch of Schalke is decisive.
He did not have time to arrive, which after a few months comes forward Liverpool ! " Hello? I'm Klopp : what do you think if we talk about the boy's future? ”, The manager asks the Turkish entourage, who in the meantime know that Milan has no intention of letting go of this signing opportunity. “We'll talk about it in June”, was the reply. Then there was the lockdown, the endless break and any negotiations postponed to the end of the championship.
The new Milan proposal
Liverpool are watching, Milan are not. In September 2020, Maldini and Massara pick up the phone again and insist with Gardi. The deal can be done. But in the end Schalke says no even in the face of a significant offer to sign him outright : " We don't have a replacement and there's too little time to look for one ." was Schalke's answer.
"Here we go"
And he moves this January . Liverpool, remained silent, returns to the office. At the beginning of the month, the club board proposes a loan with the option to buy. " Absolutely not ", Schalke replied.
Not enough yet, the reds prefer to wait because they do not intend to commit themselves so definitively. They wait, yes, but they press anyway, until the very last days. " Schalke have opened to the buy option ". On Monday morning, the player rushes to a facility in Germany to undergo medical examinations. Then, the electronic signature to be sent quickly, together with the upload of the documents necessary to guarantee the transfer.
The final wait
A bit of fear of not being able to do everything in time, when it was finally possible to set everything up (operation on a total of 20 million euros between the loan and the option to buy, with the addition of bonuses on various objectives). Milan? In recent days: silent phone. In January they hoped they could return to negotiation, but also for a loan. When Schalke opened to this formula, the time was too short for the Rossoneri.
source: grandhotelcalciomercato.com
