Crystal Palace linked with Liverpool defensive loanee

Having endured a defensive crisis in the mid-season of 2020-21, Liverpool went out and picked up a few new signings. One of the players they picked up was Turkish prospect Ozan Kabak, on loan from FC Schalke 04. Despite playing a regular role and impressing in a few games, Kabak was soon told that he would not have a future at LFC. The player, though, impressed scouts enough in the Premier League that reports now exist of English interest – including from Crystal Palace.

As Palace fans, the need for more defensive depth has become a bit of a running debating point. With many of the central defensive options at the club either being a fair age or lacking in mobility, Kabak would solve both options. He’s a relatively pacey, ball-confident central defensive option who is young and has a very high ceiling. Indeed, prior to his loan to Anfield, Kabak was rated as among the best young defensive prospects in the German top-flight.

Palace fans, though, should be intrigued by a player who has been dubbed an elite prospect at international level. The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a move back to England, and reports in Germany suggest that Palace could be high-up on the list of potential suitors.

However, the challenge for Palace at the moment is the same as it is for keeping any of our current players: there is no manager. Without a head coach in place, most players will look to join a solution that might be more stabilised. This makes the need to hire a new coach – and sort out the rumbling ownership situation – as a priority.

Without a new coach, it might mean missing out on key talent like Kabak that could become essential to our rebuild.

Is Ozan Kabak the right player for Crystal Palace?

Young, aggressive, decent on the ball, and affordable? There are few downsides to a move for a 21-year-old international. However, with two well-run clubs in Leicester City and RB Leipzig also heavily linked, Palace would need to do some major selling to get back to the head of the queue. Key to that selling, though, would be in showing Kabak (and others) that they will be working with a top head coach who can develop them.

Talk of a move for Eddie Howe has rumbled on in the background, and Kabak would suit the kind of player that the former Bournemouth coach would typically look to bring in. Palace, though, might also be better to look at a more experienced name with a reputation on the continent. That is why the recent links to Lucien Favre, formerly or Nice and Borussia Dortmund among others, can feel so exciting.

Palace fans want to see a top coach come in who can take the club beyond their current level. To do that, new signings are needed. Before any major moves can happen on the playing staff, though, a coach is needed. So, the question is simple: can Palace find a respected coach before top transfer targets are snapped up elsewhere?