Turkish international centre back Ozan Kabak joined Liverpool on 1st February 2021, initially on loan for the remainder of he season. The agreement included an option to buy, which was reported at £18 million and could be activated in June 2021.

Kabak was born in Ankara in 2000 and joined Galatasaray's youth academy in 2011. He made his professional debut at the end of 2017/18 and in the following season made fourteen league appearances before joining Stuttgart in the January transfer window. He made fifteen Bundesliga appearances, scoring three goals including two in a 5-1 win over Hannover 96. Stuttgart were relegated at the end of 2018-19 but during the close season Schalke 04 activated a 15 million Euro release clause meaning he would remain in the Bundesliga for 2019/20. He played 26 times for Schalke in a season disrupted by Covid 19 and made his full international debut, appearing in Turkey's 2-0 win over Andorra in November 2019.

Long term injuries to all three senior centre backs at Liverpool meant the Reds made their move for Kabak in the January 2021 transfer window. He was recommended to Jurgen Klopp by his close friend David Wagner, who managed Schalke for 2019/20 and the first few games of 2020/21.