Schalke defender Ozan Kabak is enroute to Sinsheim to undergo a medical with Hoffenheim, according to Kicker. The 22-year-old central-defender will join TSG for a fee between €5m and €7m.
Hoffenheim missed out on primary defensive targets Moussa Niakhaté, who joined Nottingham Forest, and Alexander Djiku, whose move fell through, and so turned their attention elsewhere. They had also shown interest in signing Chris Richards (22) from Bayern Munich for a third time, but the American defender is expected to join Premier League side Crystal Palace after reaching an agreement.
That means Hoffenheim have moved towards signing Kabak. Negotiations between the two Bundesliga club had been ongoing and Schalke were already planning on the 2022/23 season without the Turkey international, with a preference to sell rather than loan due to Kabak’s €3.5m salary.
Hoffenheim conceded 60 in 34 games last season and a task for sporting director Alexander Rosen and new head coach André Breitenreiter is to strengthen their defence. TSG announced the departure of Kasim Adams to Basel on loan whilst Stefan Posch could yet leave for Wolves.
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