Liverpool have finally managed to bring in some defensive reinforcements to ease their concerns at the back after the Reds acquired Ben Davies from Preston North End and Ozan Kabak (on loan) from Schalke 04 respectively on transfer deadline day.
With Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip likely to out for the rest of this campaign, Jurgen Klopp was in desperate need of getting a couple of fresh faces in through the door on Monday as he had no other senior centre-backs available for selection.
Both Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip has done well to fill in as makeshift centre-halves when needed while Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips has also stepped up to the challenge of playing for Klopp’s first-team. Therefore, the signings of Davies and Kabak would go a long way in helping the Liverpool manager plug some holes in his squad to hopefully make a strong push for the Premier League title and the UEFA Champions League trophy this season.
How Davies And Kabak Fared For Their Respective Clubs This Season
Ben Davies has been a regular feature in Preston’s first-team over the past few months as he has made 19 appearances for them, picking up one assist and one yellow card in the EFL Championship. The English centre-half has done well to average 1.2 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 4.3 clearances per 90 minutes in league football this season. He has even been relatively tidy when distributing the ball out from the back after completing 79% of his attempted passes in the English second division (stats via whoscored).
Unlike Davies, Kabak has endured a difficult season at Schalke as he has struggled to help his parent club pick up some positive results which have seen them rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga table. The Turkish youngster has featured in 14 league matches for the German outfit this term and is averaging 1.2 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 3.9 clearances, 0.9 shots and 1.3 dribbles per game in the German top tier. He was also exceptional with his ball-distribution as evidenced by his pass completion rate of 87.9% in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
A Prediction On What Liverpool Fans Can Expect From Their Deadline Day Signings This Season
Kabak has played football at the highest level and has established himself as one of Bundesliga’s brightest young defenders. Hence, he will be a safe bet to feature for the Reds week in week out for the remainder of this campaign.
As long as the seven-time Turkey international can handle the expectations surrounding his move to Anfield, he won’t have any trouble settling into the Premier League. Kabak has got the strength and defensive skillset to be a success story in English football, so the Liverpool fans expect to see the best out of him if Klopp’s side can maintain their title push in the Premier League this season.
However, as far as Davies is concerned, it would be up to Klopp to get the best out of the 25-year-old as he is still unproven at the top level. The English defensive ace is no stranger to high-pressure situations as he has come through the lower leagues of English football. Still, there are some concerns over whether he would be able to deliver good performances for the Merseyside outfit in the second half of this season.
We predict that Kabak would play good enough to earn a permanent move to Anfield next summer. However, Davies might struggle to get into Klopp’s first-team as the Reds head coach might prefer the safer option of playing either Fabinho or Henderson as a makeshift centre-back for the high-profile fixtures this season.
