Kabak bids farewell to Liverpool after club decided against making loan

Ozan Kabak has bid an emotional farewell to the Liverpool 'family' after the Turkey international's loan spell at the club officially came to an end.

The 21-year-old was signed on a loan deal from Schalke in January as the Reds moved to bring in cover following their defensive crisis which saw Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip miss large chunks of the season.

Kabak would go on to make 13 appearances across all competitions for Jurgen Klopp's men but the Anfield club opted against taking up the option to make his loan move permanent for £18million.

However, in a departing message to the club, Kabak insists his four months at the club will stay with him and thanked the fans for their 'compassion and support'.

In a letter published on the Liverpool's official website, Kabak wrote: 'Dear Liverpool family,

'I would like to thank you for the compassion and support you have shown towards me since the day I arrived. I believe the experience I have gathered during my four-month stay here has been a very important one.

'I have learned a lot from my manager Jürgen Klopp and all my teammates and I was proud to be part of this special family. I will always remember my days here at Liverpool with great happiness and the special song which you have kindly gifted me.

'YNWA, Ozan'

The Turkey international also posted a video on his Twitter of a photomontage of some of his most high-profile games as a Reds player, with his chant first sung by The Ragamuffins playing alongside.

Klopp also paid tribute to Kabak back in May, stating: 'Ozan was absolutely incredible, he did a great job and not to forget he is a young, young, young boy with incredible experience already.

'He was in different clubs, moved early from Turkey to Germany. Played in two big clubs in Germany in difficult situations, which is obviously not his fault. We could all see when he arrived here he needed a little bit of time to adapt.

'Then he played super games for us; I don't want to pick any games out, but the two Leipzig games were absolutely incredible if you think how good Leipzig can be.

'All about the future, we will talk about and will decide about that after the last matchday. There is obviously enough time for that and nothing else really to say about it.'

But the German boss was the one who had to deliver the bad news to the 21-year old centre-back in May, just days before Liverpool completed the £36m signing of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig.

Sportsmail revealed in May that Kabak's performance have prompted plenty of interest despite injuries meaning he could not play as significant part as he hoped at Anfield.

Premier League clubs and several in the Bundesliga, including Leipzig, are considering an offer to Schalke who are keen to cash in to generate funds.

Kabak was an unused substitute for his country in their matches against Italy, Wales and Switzerland at Euro 2020, with Turkey finishing bottom of Group A.