I personally think we should take him - as long as we’re signing another, more accomplished CB in the summer, a la Konate.
He’s been a mixed bag so far - he’s shown good aggression, the ability to read passes but he’s also slower to anticipate than he needs to be and has switched off on a few occasions. That being said, he’s only just turned 21 and I think he’s a good prospect. Let’s be honest here, he’s a better player than Phillips, but gets less criticism because he’s not home grown or as visibly good in the air etc (I like Phillips but the best move for all parties is a sale to a mid-lower Prem team who like what they’ve seen and will pay a small premium for his homegrown status).
He’s far more along in his developmental curve than Rhys Williams for example, who is less than a year younger than Kabak. Realistically we’re not going to get someone with similar potential for the same price and I’d be very surprised to see him end up back at Schalke. Give the lad some credit - he’s come into a dysfunctional, changing back line that has little experience of playing together, during one of the worst dips in form we’ve had in decades, all amidst an unprecedented injury crisis, whilst simultaneously trying to adapt to a new culture, language and country amidst a pandemic that will prevent him from doing the usual things that would give a young lad in a new country comfort and familiarity.
