Borussia Dortmund\u00a0centre-back Nico\u00a0Schlotterbeck is emerging as a serious transfer target for Liverpool, who can\u2019t afford to wait until the end of the season to sign him.<\/p>\n
This is according to Football Insider<\/a> journalist Pete O\u2019Rourke, who reports that Schlotterbeck could be available \u2018for cheaper than first expected\u2019, in a nice boost to Liverpool<\/strong><\/a> head coach Arne Slot.<\/p>\n Nico Schlotterbeck v Ibrahima Konate: 25\/26 per 90 stats comparison<\/p>\n Schlotterbeck has established himself as one of the leading Bundesliga centre-backs after earning a move from SC Freiburg to Borussia Dortmund in the 2022 summer transfer window.<\/p>\n He almost won the Bundesliga in his first season at the club, but fell short on goal difference to Thomas Tuchel\u2019s Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n Dortmund and Schlotterbeck bounced back in 2023\/24 to reach the Champions League final, which they lost to Real Madrid at Wembley.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old is also a regular in Julian Nagelsmann\u2019s Germany squad, starting three of Die Mannschaft\u2019s last four 2026 World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n Schlotterbeck will enter the final 18 months of his Dortmund contract in January, and unsurprisingly, a host of European giants are monitoring his situation.<\/p>\n MORE LIVERPOOL TRANSFER NEWS ON F365 Liverpool are among the clubs reportedly interested in signing the German defender, and transfer journalist O\u2019Rourke, speaking on Football Insider\u2019s Inside Track podcast, says there is potential for a \u201ccut-price\u201d deal at the end of the season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s claimed that the Reds could sign Schlotterbeck \u2018for cheaper than first expected\u2019. O\u2019Rourke said:\u00a0\u201cLiverpool will definitely be in that race to try and sign him and bring him to England if they can.<\/p>\n \u201cA top player like that, you might be able to get him for a cut-price fee next summer, especially if he\u2019s going into the final year of his contract with Dortmund without any agreement on an extension.<\/p>\n \u201cThey might be able to get him for a lot lower fee than you would normally expect for a current Germany international as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Liverpool need centre-back in January, not the summer<\/p>\n Liverpool were dealt a significant blow on deadline day when Marc Guehi\u2019s proposed \u00a335million transfer from Crystal Palace fell through<\/strong><\/a>, exacerbated by summer signing Giovanni Leoni\u2019s season-ending ACL injury and Ibrahima Konate\u2019s poor start to the campaign.<\/p>\n Slot\u2019s side can land Guehi on a free transfer at the end of the season. Still, the damage has already been done in the early months of 2025\/26 after an alarming six defeats in their opening 11 Premier League matches, leaving them eighth in the table<\/strong><\/a>, eight points adrift of pacesetters Arsenal.<\/p>\n If Slot is to salvage anything from this season, he needs to sign a centre-back in January, rather than waiting until the end of the season.<\/p>\n Leoni will be available again next season, but for the remainder of this campaign, Slot\u2019s only natural centre-back options are Virgil van Dijk, a struggling Konate<\/strong><\/a>, and Joe Gomez, whom there seems to be a lack of trust in.<\/p>\n Signing Schlotterbeck in January throws any chance of a \u201ccut-price\u201d deal out of the window, while Palace are unlikely to let Guehi leave mid-season, even if it guarantees them a transfer fee when he\u2019s planning to leave for nothing in June.<\/p>\n Transfermarkt values Schlotterbeck at\u00a0\u20ac40million (\u00a335.2million), which already feels like a discounted price.<\/p>\n But with Bayern Munich (obviously) also sniffing around, Liverpool should act decisively in the winter transfer window. With Konate and Van Dijk struggling, and a lack of depth behind them, it\u2019s clear a new centre-back is needed in January, whether it\u2019s Schlotterbeck or someone else.<\/p>\n\n
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Liverpool are the \u2018only favourites\u2019 for Semenyo after Ornstein bombshell with Arsenal \u2018close\u2019 to FFP limit<\/a>
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0\u2018Only way\u2019 Liverpool can sign Salah replacement in \u2018record offensive\u2019 revealed amid \u20ac200m offer claim<\/a>
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Real Madrid \u2018promise\u2019 Alonso they\u2019ll try to rescue Wirtz from Liverpool<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n