There may have been quite a few Liverpool fans keeping a close watch on the UEFA Nations League clash between Italy and Germany on Thursday night, and on Nico Schlotterbeck in particular.
The Borussia Dortmund defender has been strongly linked with a potential summer move to Anfield, something that European football journalist Sacha Tavolieri described this week as ‘a real possibility’ amid claims that the Reds are prepared to pay the centre-back’s rumoured €60m (£50.4m) asking price.
Another source has now indicated that LFC could snap up the 25-year-old for considerably less than that as BVB reportedly line up a charm offensive to try and keep him at Signal Iduna Park, but financial constraints could force them into a reluctant sale.
Could Dortmund be forced to sell Schlotterbeck this summer?
In his latest Fact Files column for the Daily Briefing, Christian Falk shared his latest information on Schlotterbeck amid Liverpool’s ongoing interest.
The journalist claims that Dortmund are ‘adamant’ they want to keep the defender and are willing to give him the club captaincy and double his annual salary to try and convince him to stay.
However, Niko Kovac’s side would be ‘forced to sell’ a few key assets if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, and the cetre-back’s market value is cited at just €40m (£33.5m).
Falk added: “It’s a big question as to whether Liverpool will be concrete for Nico Schlotterbeck in the summer. Ultimately, Liverpool are looking for a potential successor for Virgil van Dijk, which is, of course, a very big thing!
“It’s also a big thing to be captain of Borussia Dortmund, which is why they’re trying this tactic because they see it’s a serious thing. However, as far as his standing in the national team is concerned, a move to Liverpool would be beneficial.”
Liverpool must be all over a move for Schlotterbeck if he’s on the market
Dortmund’s best chance of appearing in next season’s Champions League might actually be to win it this year, with the quarter-finalists languishing in 11th in the Bundesliga, 10 points off the top-four finish which’d be required to secure qualification unless Germany gets one of the two extra berths in offer (which are currently due to be given to England and Spain).
BVB made it to the final of the tournament last year despite only finishing fifth domestically, so they do tend to save their best performances for Europe, but overcoming Barcelona in the quarter-finals (and then either Bayern Munich or Inter Milan in the semis) seems a daunting task.
If they miss out and duly have to sell players, Liverpool should be all over a potential move for Schlotterbeck, especially if he could be acquired for less than £35m.
The 25-year-old enjoyed another solid outing for Germany in their 2-1 win over Italy last night, winning 80% of his duels and making two clearances and two tackles as he kept the in-form Moise Kean (20 goals for Fiorentina this season) at bay (Sofascore).
Aside from being a physically imposing defender, the Dortmund man also excels with the ball at his feet, as shown by statistics from FBref.
Among centre-backs in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year, Schlotterbeck is in the top 10% for assists (0.11), shot-creating actions (1.88), progressive passes (7.81) and carries (1.63), and successful take-ons (0.46) per 90 minutes.
If Van Dijk doesn’t sign a new contract at Anfield (his future will become known in the next couple of months), thus leaving an enormous vacancy in our defence, Liverpool simply must be proactive in trying to fill the void with a move for the gifted Germany international.
