Liverpool are said to be interested in Borussia Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck, but have yet to put pen to paper on a contract offer from the Bundesliga.
Nico Schlotterbeck has been warned by Borussia Dortmund that the Bundesliga side will not wait “indefinitely” to decide whether to sign a new contract, amid growing interest from other clubs including Liverpool.
The German defender has two years left on his current contract, but Dortmund are keen to lock down one of their most important players for the long term. The situation is further complicated by rival interest in the 25-year-old, who is yet to decide on his future.
Dortmund are said to have submitted a proposal to increase Schlotterbeck’s annual salary to around 8 million euros (approximately 690 million yen). However, with the names of Liverpool and Bayern Munich also lurking in the background, Dortmund sporting director Lars Ricken has told the centre-back that the club will not wait forever to sign him.
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In an interview with Bild newspaper, Ricken said: “It is his absolute right to plan his future carefully. We respect that. And we believe that the focus should be on prospects, trust and belief, not salary.”
But he added: “We’re not going to rush into anything. But of course we don’t want to drag it out indefinitely. We all know that.”
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With Schlotterbeck’s future up in the air, Liverpool may be monitoring the situation closely as 2026 approaches. The Reds are short-handed in defense, having missed out on summer signing Marc Guehi and Giovanni Leoni, a £26m summer signing from Parma, set to be sidelined for a year after tearing his ACL.
There has already been speculation that the club could rekindle their interest in Guehi, with him likely to be available as a free agent in January or at the end of the 2025-26 season. However, reports earlier this year suggested that Schlotterbeck was being seen as Virgil van Dijk’s long-term successor.
The Liverpool captain, 34, recently signed a new two-year contract until 2027. He remains a huge figure for Arne Slott’s side, but it will be tough for the Premier League champions to plan for life after the Dutchman.
Van Dijk joined the Reds from Celtic at the start of the January 2018 transfer window and has since made over 300 appearances, winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League and both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
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