Next summer? Liverpool must sign ‘cut-price’ German in January amid Konate form, Slot ‘trust’ issues | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck is emerging as a serious transfer target for Liverpool, who can’t afford to wait until the end of the season to sign him.

This is according to Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke, who reports that Schlotterbeck could be available ‘for cheaper than first expected’, in a nice boost to Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.

Nico Schlotterbeck v Ibrahima Konate: 25/26 per 90 stats comparison

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.

He almost won the Bundesliga in his first season at the club, but fell short on goal difference to Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich.

Dortmund and Schlotterbeck bounced back in 2023/24 to reach the Champions League final, which they lost to Real Madrid at Wembley.

The 25-year-old is also a regular in Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad, starting three of Die Mannschaft’s last four 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Schlotterbeck will enter the final 18 months of his Dortmund contract in January, and unsurprisingly, a host of European giants are monitoring his situation.

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Liverpool are among the clubs reportedly interested in signing the German defender, and transfer journalist O’Rourke, speaking on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, says there is potential for a “cut-price” deal at the end of the season.

It’s claimed that the Reds could sign Schlotterbeck ‘for cheaper than first expected’. O’Rourke said: “Liverpool will definitely be in that race to try and sign him and bring him to England if they can.

“A top player like that, you might be able to get him for a cut-price fee next summer, especially if he’s going into the final year of his contract with Dortmund without any agreement on an extension.

“They might be able to get him for a lot lower fee than you would normally expect for a current Germany international as well.”

Liverpool need centre-back in January, not the summer

Liverpool were dealt a significant blow on deadline day when Marc Guehi’s proposed £35million transfer from Crystal Palace fell through, exacerbated by summer signing Giovanni Leoni’s season-ending ACL injury and Ibrahima Konate’s poor start to the campaign.

Slot’s 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, eight points adrift of pacesetters Arsenal.

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.

Leoni will be available again next season, but for the remainder of this campaign, Slot’s only natural centre-back options are Virgil van Dijk, a struggling Konate, and Joe Gomez, whom there seems to be a lack of trust in.

Signing Schlotterbeck in January throws any chance of a “cut-price” 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’s planning to leave for nothing in June.

Transfermarkt values Schlotterbeck at €40million (£35.2million), which already feels like a discounted price.

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’s clear a new centre-back is needed in January, whether it’s Schlotterbeck or someone else.