Newcastle United reportedly had a deal agreed with Schalke for defender Ozan Kabak before Liverpool stepped in to sign the Turkish defender.
The Magpies were hopeful of completing a deal to take Kabak on loan for the rest of the season, but were unable to compete with the defending Premier League champions.
That’s according to BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter Ian Dennis, who tweeted that Liverpool had “nipped in” at the last minute and “blew Newcastle out of the water” with their offer, which will include an £18million option to sign the 20-year-old permanently.
According to the Liverpool Echo , Jurgen Klopp’s side are set to follow up the £500,000 signing of Ben Davies from Preston with the arrival of Kabak before the 11pm transfer deadline.
The Reds will pay a £1m loan fee to the German side, with a potential further £500,000 due, depending on appearances and performance in the Champions League.
The Echo’s report added that Kabak came strongly recommended to Klopp by his good friend, and former Schalke boss, David Wagner.
Schalke are set to sign Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi as a replacement for Kabak, with the Gunners happy to terminate the German defender’s contract in order to let him leave.
Kabak has made 14 Bundesliga appearances this season for Schalke, who are bottom of the table, with just one win from 19 matches.
The German side ended their run of 30 league games without a win earlier in January, but still look set for relegation.
Newcastle are yet to bring in any new faces on transfer deadline day, but a loan deal for Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock is close, after his teammate Reiss Nelson bid his friend goodbye in an Instagram post.
Meanwhile, DeAndre Yedlin has left the club for Galatasaray, with the American right-back signing a deal until 2023 with the Turkish club.
Matt Ritchie, Sean Longstaff and Matty Longstaff have all been linked with exits, but nothing has been forthcoming so far.
