Schalke: The silver lining in Ozan Kabak’s release clause

Schalke starlet Ozan Kabak has a release clause, which is never good, but there is a silver lining to the clause that we should have high hopes for.

Any time I hear “release clause,” I get antsy. Just the idea of it. You pay a release clause and the club can’t stop advances to sign a player? Crazy. And that’s what FC Schalke are dealing with with arguably their most valuable young asset, Ozan Kabak.

The young Turkish defender has been a sensation this year, stepping in when both starting centerbacks, Benjamin Stambouli and Salif Sane went down with season-ending injuries. There has been zero setback with Kabak, he’s been indomitable in the defense and it’s launched him onto the international stage.

And now, the news has come out that following the 2020/21 season, Kabak will have a release clause of about £38m activated. Meaning that all of those Premier League vultures can swoop up this young man for a relatively modest fee.

This is what worries me—if Kabak continues what he’s doing, and there’s literally no reason to think that he won’t, someone will pay that fee and take him.

More from Release The Knappen

• Schalke 04: Arkadiusz Milik would take everything, but he’s worth it
• Schalke 04: Ozan Kabak makes Jean-Claire Todibo pass quietly
• Schalke 04: Omar Mascarell the only boost between now and then
• Schalke 04: David Wagner just has to make it to the end of the season
• Schalke 04: At least we still have Weston McKennie

It’s part of being a Schalke fan. We’ve seen players leave, and we’ve mostly had to deal with them leaving for free, so getting even that release clause fee would be better than nothing, but what beats all possible outcomes is renegotiating a new deal to do away with the release clause.

However, there is a silver lining here, and it was mentioned above—nothing can happen until the conclusion of the 2020/21 season. Nothing. Until then, there is no release clause. Which means that until then, we have time to renegotiate a new deal that will see him more securely locked in.

Die Knappen have already done similar with Weston McKennie and Amine Harit. Alexander Nubel is the guy who got away, but Kabak has had nothing but wonderful things to say about Schalke and he’s been tremendous here. There’s no reason to fear a premature exit, and while there have been links to a Premier League club, come next year or even this summer, Schalke are going to be much improved, in a better place, and, with David Wagner on a much stronger foundation.

It might seem stressful, knowing he has a release clause, but there is plenty of time to sort this out before it really becomes a problem.