Man Utd rocked as confirmed target SIGNS different deal with announcement made | OneFootball

A brilliant Bundesliga star Manchester United had ambitions of signing this summer has put pen to paper on a different deal.

Man Utd will splash out on two big-money midfielders at season’s end, though it’s not only in central areas where the action will lay.

A new left winger is a priority too, while additions will be explored at left-back and/or left centre-back.

Regarding the latter, Man Utd looked into a move for Borussia Dortmund’s highly-rated Nico Schlotterbeck.

The 26-year-old is among the Bundesliga’s best having been named in three of the past four teams of the season.

He’s racked up 25 caps for Germany since making his senior debut in 2022, though reports claimed he might’ve been available for a bargain transfer fee as low as €30m-€35m in the summer.

That was because Schlotterbeck’s contract was winding down, and the upcoming summer would represent Dortmund’s last real shot at generating a sizeable fee.

Liverpool, Man Utd and Real Madrid all hovered. Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg namechecked Man Utd specifically last week.

He wrote on X: “I can confirm that Man Utd are interested in Nico Schlotterbeck. If he doesn’t renew his contract, he’ll be available in the summer for €30m-35m (£26-31m).”

However, the key part of that sentence was ‘if he doesn’t renew his contract’. Unfortunately for Man Utd, that’s exactly what’s just happened.

The news was confirmed on Dortmund’s official website, with Schlotterbeck penning a new deal that runs until 2031.

Responding to the breaking news, Ben Jacobs reaffirmed Schlotterbeck had fielded ‘significant’ interest from Premier League sides.

Giving his take, Fabrizio Romano revealed Schlotterbeck has now been put ‘among the best paid players’ at Dortmund.

While the exact details are still to emerge, German outlet Kicker have since confirmed a release clause has been inserted into Schlotterbeck’s new terms.

Nevertheless, common sense would dictate that clause cannot be activated this summer, and wouldn’t be open to clubs until future years.

As such, it’s now assured Schlotterbeck will remain a Dortmund player for one more season at least.