According to Kicker, Schalke 04 spent a significant amount of money on Ozan Kabak, the center-back who now anchors Hoffenheim's defense. The Turkish international will face his former club again following Schalke's return to the Bundesliga.
The highest transfer fee of Ozan Kabak's career to date was paid by Hoffenheim's upcoming opponent. In the summer of 2019, Schalke 04 paid Stuttgart 15 million euros for the defensive prospect, who had arrived in Germany only six months earlier and whose club had just been relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. A year and a half later, with Schalke's relegation looming, Kabak left on loan for Liverpool. It was the first of his three departures from Schalke.
The second time, the Turkish international defender stayed in England, joining Norwich City on loan for a season. After that, Kabak, now 26, left Schalke permanently. He made 42 official appearances for Schalke, scoring 3 goals, and moved to Hoffenheim four years ago for 7 million euros. Since then, Kabak has faced his former club twice with Hoffenheim, winning both the league match (2023, 2-0) and the cup tie (2022, 5-1). After a long absence, Schalke's return to the Bundesliga will bring a reunion on Sunday evening, and both Kabak and Hoffenheim are under pressure.
"We have to win against Schalke," the center-back emphasized. Kabak and Hoffenheim have fallen short of expectations in the league and the Europa League. Just on Thursday, Hoffenheim drew 1-1 away at Crystal Palace, with Kabak back in England, and dropped two valuable points. "It's a pity we didn't get three points. We played and defended very well, but we conceded a very poor goal."
Kabak added with disappointment, "Our performance in that game was very good; not every team can play like that there. We have many injured players, but also many very talented young players, and 13 or 14 available players who are in good form." Those players will be striving for Hoffenheim's third home victory of the season on Sunday, which would help the club move closer to the top of the table again.
For Kabak, this match remains special. "I had a great time at Schalke when I was still very young, and it was my second stop in Germany. I had many good teammates there, and I'm happy to see some of them again and play against them," Kabak said.
In 2024, a cruciate ligament tear temporarily halted his progress, along with a third move to England that was already in the works. "I still know many staff members, and also some players, like Timo Becker, and of course the Turkish players Karaman, Hasan Kuruçay, and Mertcan Ayhan. I'm really looking forward to it." How Kabak will feel after the final whistle remains to be seen.