Ozan Kabak: Player Profile

When you think of the Bundesliga rising stars you think of Jadon Sancho, Reiss Nelson, Kai Havertz, Julian Brandt, Dodi Lukeabkio but a name floating under the radar to many English football fans is the Turkish central defender, Ozan Kabak.

Kabak, playing for Galatasaray

The 18-year-old was born in the capital city of Turkey on March 25th 2000. Kabak joined the Galatasaray youth set up in 2011 where he continued to progress and was offered his first professional contract in the summer of 2017. He made his senior debut coming on from the bench in a win over Yeni Matalyspor, that was his only contribution in the 2017/18 season. However, his role for Galatasaray stepped up the following season as he featured in 13 league games with 4 UEFA Champions League game under his belt. He largely impressed for the Yellow-Reds during the Champions League as he averaged 4.3 tackles per game with 3 interceptions and 3.3 clearances. Kabak soon caught the eye from European scouts all around and it wasn’t long before Stuttgart snatched him up in January for the fee of £9.90 million, subject to add-ons.

Since joining Die Schwaben, he’s featured in every game (6 appearances) and has joined the back three of Pavard and Kempf. Although he’s yet to drastically improve the team’s overall form, Stuttgart has just come off the back of their biggest Bundesliga win, by the scoreline, since they beat Hoffenheim 1,082 days ago, also a 5-1 win. The win wasn’t just big for the club but a great personal achievement for Kabak as he scored a brace for his first professional goal’s and later was awarded Man of the Match for his classy performance.

Kabak as he signed for Stuttgart

Only just 20 league games under his belt and Kabak has already shown so much promise and he looks to of adjusted to the new league quickly, a very positive sign for a young man looking to get to the top of the game. His co-defender Benjamin Pavard is on his way to Bayern Munich in the summer so Ozan will have an opportunity to take the reins at the back if he isn’t snapped up by a bigger European club but may be likely due to Stuttgart’s current poor league standing. There is a supposed slight interest coming from the red side of North London, but nothing official has been noted by either Stuttgart or Arsenal.

Now onto his ability, the 6’1 defender has a 78.4% pass completion percentage but plays more long balls (3.3) than any other of his partners in defence. He is an accomplished tackler and likes to dribble forwards with the ball if the opportunity arises. Aerially he is solid winning 58% of his duels, but certainly, an aspect that will be improved as physically he becomes stronger. Another physical aspect of his game that needs working on is his pace as if rapid wide players get in behind he may struggle to recover his position. Many of these physical attributes will be trained by Stuttgart’s athletic coach, Matthias Schiffers, hopefully, he and Schiffers can strike up a positive working relationship.

Celebrating his first goal for Stuttgart

The sky really is the limit for this starlet and many believe, including me, he has the drive and ability to get to the top. His willingness to succeed is apparent and his move to Stuttgart at just 18 shows this when he could’ve comfortably ridden out till the end of the season at Galatasaray. A handful of games in the Champions League is very good for his confidence and shows that he can handle it at the top-level. From now till the end of the season will be intriguing to see how Ozan develops under Weinzerl and if he can be the catalyst for a change in fate for Stuttgart.

Taylor Toney-Green –  Follow Twitter @TaylorTG_

#bundesliga #football #stuttgart #turkey