15 May 2021 10:53:42
A lot of talk about signing Kabak but I genuinely think money would be much better spent elsewhere. He may be young but his positional play is poor and he is slow on the turn, rash and poor in the air. Never a starter in a championship/ champion league winning team. Actually reminds me of a younger version of Lovren.


1.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 11:26:36
Nat phillips over kabak for me like.


2.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 11:26:49
I think Adam Webster is really underrated id much rather have him than kabak.


3.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 12:03:38
I don’t see the point in signing him. He’s not at the level of Gomez or Konate (assuming we sign him) and never will be, but he’s also not much younger than them either, so he will be at least 4th choice for at least the next 5 years (because of VVD) and at least 3rd choice for the 5 years after that (because of Gomez and Konate)
May as well keep Phillips who is better, free and English.


4.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 12:07:49
I don't think we'll sign him because of how tight money will be. But i like him and think that in a normal year, at 21 years of age and an £18m fee we would be all over it.


5.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 12:34:31
18m is a bargain this day in age snap him up he’s only young and plenty to learn! I’d take kabak as a squad member all day!
City spend 50m on reserve players so why not 18m on kabak.

{Ed001's Note - that's is lunacy. Why buy a player who is clearly not good enough just because he is cheap? To talk about City spending that on reserve players is pure ignorance, as they don't. They spend it on players for the first team squad only, Pep likes rotation options, but he certainly wouldn't spend 50m on a reserve! The very fact you think Kabak is just a reserve should tell you everything you need to know, waste of money. Players should be bought for the team, not the under-23s.}


6.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 13:14:43
Ed001 - I think Jay Dub means to buy him as a back-up option rather than a reserve in the strict meaning of the word, as they seem to overlap in the minds of most today. I guess an example would be Pep spending north of 40m on the likes of Ake knowing full well he’d never be a starter, and this is where the ‘cheap’ argument comes in for Kabak.
I personally wouldn’t sign him, not because I think he’s a bad player, but because he isn’t what we need. A fit VVD alongside Konate, with Gomez and Phillips as options would be a brilliant set of CBs.

{Ed001's Note - he bought Ake looking for him to provide left-back, centre-back and midfield cover. If Ake didn't pick up injuries at the wrong time, I am sure he would have played a lot more often.}


7.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 13:15:35
Do you think we will buy him in the end Ed? If Konate comes in (which seems likely from rumours) - would we pay 18m for what will likely be a 4th choice? Seems pointless when we have Phillips - unless we sell Phillips and Matip? But then why do that to spend 18m on Kabak!

{Ed001's Note - it makes absolutely no sense to me. But who knows? I have no idea, sorry.}


8.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 13:21:25
Jay, a 50m player is not a reserve player. He is a potential starter esp with Pep that likes to rotate with near like for like quality. There’s a reason why they are where they are esp in a season like this one. Comparing the two teams in this regard is just illogical.

Ed01, I admit that I thought Kabak would get signed cos I think he has some good things about him and some rough edges that can be smoothed over with better coaching. Same applies to Phillips and even Williams cos they are all improving really. Now if money is tight which it is then, I can see Nat staying and Kabak leaving and if it happens then, so be it. Cheers, bro.

{Ed001's Note - personally I would rather have Phillips over Kabak every single day. He is a much better defender. It is not even close and Phillips is miles away from being world class, so what does that say about Kabak?}


9.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 14:14:53
For me Kabak has not shown enough quality for us to warrant signing him, Philips might not be the most gifted centre half but he gives 100% every time he puts on that red Jersey and I would be comfortable having him as one of our 4 centre halves provided we of course go out and get a quality CB in the summer.

The only thing I would be worried about is how big Virgil and Joe come back after their long term injuries I would hope they both would be 100% for the 21/ 22 preseason but there is always the terrible feeling that they could have a break down in their full recovery and we could be left short in that department again hopefully fingers crossed that won't be the case.

But for me if we had 4 of VVD, Gomez, Philips and Konate or someone alike then we would have adequate cover for the CB position.


10.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 14:23:08
#1 target seems to be Konate, and Leipzig apparently want full payment in one go.
If Phillips brings in, say, £15m, we might end up selling him and not signing Kabak at all?
If Schalke are very flexible on payment, then who knows?
I think Matip is the key to it all. If he’s sold, then one of Kabak and Phillips will go.
If we can’t move Matip on, there’s your 4 x CBs - VVD, Gomez, Konate and Matip.


11.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 15:41:21
Were not buying Kabak. He was brought in as cover because we lost 3 first team centre backs during the season. I very much doubt he was high on the transfer list last summer, he just became a viable loan option in Jan as few CBs were available to buy. He hasn't impressed hugely and im sure he's a stop-gap before we get Konate. That 20m will go towards Konates transfer, not Kabak, imo.


12.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 16:01:03
My feeling is that Kabak will be bought. But not at 18 Million. More like 9-10 Million. It's the trend nowadays. Take a player on loan with option to buy, and then squeeze the heck out of the price when it's time to buy.

{Ed0666's Note - but why pay 8 million if he’s not any good? Surely that money should be spent on someone better?


13.) 15 May 2021
15 May 2021 16:32:41
Thanks for the response, Ed01. I totally see what you are saying here. We will have to see.

Juicer, you make very interesting points in your post. It will b interesting to see what happens cos we might need to sell Phillips to generate part of the funding for Konate. And not sure we can even move Matip so there’s another conundrum right there.


14.) 16 May 2021
16 May 2021 06:56:28
assuming Konate is coming, then I am more than happy going in with Phillips and Williams as 4/ 5 option over Kabak.
Just can't see the sense in spending money on another young foreign player when we have 2 homegrown lads in the squad already showing their value in that role. Isn't this what the squad is about?