Liverpool journalist James Pearce makes interesting claim about Bundesliga defender | OneFootball

Liverpool journalist James Pearce, of The Athletic, claims that the club are looking at Schalke defender Ozan Kabak as a potential centre-back to bring in following the injury to Virgil van Dijk.

Pearce says that they are probably still looking at Kabak as he is another good alternative, but the club are also considering promoting Rhys Williams into the first-team squad to be more involved.

Van Dijk is set to be out for a number of months after damaging his ACL in the 2-2 draw with Everton at the weekend. He now requires surgery and could be out for the rest of the 2020/21 season.

Speaking to Norweigan outlet TV2, Pearce responded to a question about Kabak. “He is probably another player they are looking at, and another good alternative.

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“But maybe they also see in their own ranks. I know they have high hopes for the young boy Rhys Williams.”

ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

If Liverpool are looking at Kabak, they might not be liking what they are seeing from him this season. The Turkish international has had a horror start to the campaign with two poor performances against Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen before missing out on the next two Bundesliga fixtures altogether.

Schalke conceded 11 goals in the two league matches he has played this season, losing 8-0 to Bayern and 3-1 to Bremen. In those two games, Kabak managed WhoScored ratings of 5.16 and 5.01 – emphasising just how tough the last few weeks have been for him. The results, of course, are not down to one player but his ratings show that his individual performances were not good enough at the back.

This could potentially cause Liverpool to look elsewhere to find a centre-back in-form and ready to come straight into their squad and compete in the January window – if they decide to act on their interest in a centre-back. However, Kabak still has just over two months to recover and start showing the type of performances which led to Liverpool having him on their radar to begin with, so it could be an interesting time between now and the window opening.