Empire of the Kop
·31 March 2026
Nico Schlotterbeck will sign for Liverpool this summer after Dortmund contract earthquake – opinion

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Yahoo sportsEmpire of the Kop
·31 March 2026

It seems that Nico Schlotterbeck is not as close to a contract extension with Dortmund as reports would claim.
On Monday, Fabrizio Romano had reported that the centre-half’s team had secured a ‘verbal agreement’ with BVB over a new contract.
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All that was left, according to reports, was for the German to green-light the talks, securing a new contract until 2031 (plus an improved salary).
Schlotterbeck has now ‘categorically denied’ that contract talks are close to a conclusion.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “I must categorically deny that; unfortunately, we’re not there yet.
“I negotiated with Sebastian [Kehl] for a long time, but he’s no longer with us. What has been reported is unfortunately not true.
“I would probably have made a decision in the coming weeks. The situation has changed a bit.
“I’ll be holding talks with Ole [Book], and we’re not at the stage where we’re on the verge of a deal. It’s a shame for BVB fans right now, but it’s not an easy situation for me either.”
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This throws his future in Germany into some amount of doubt amid reported links to Liverpool and Real Madrid.
It seems one may have to take claims of Liverpool being out of the race for the 26-year-old with a pinch of salt.
A few months ago, it was claimed that the Reds would ‘definitely’ be in the race to try and sign Nico Schlotterbeck to bolster their defence.
If this latest blow to Borussia Dortmund’s contract talks hopes is set to manifest in some emergency transfer talks this summer, we’d hope Liverpool would be among the first in line.
The simple fact is that, with only a year left on the defender’s contract after the 2025/26 season, we stand a good chance of getting a top-quality centre-back at a cut-price fee.
* Nico Schlotterbeck stats per 90 in the 2025/25 Bundesliga season (Fotmob)
As far as we’re concerned, this should be ticking more than a few boxes for Liverpool’s recruitment team.
So, we’d be surprised if Schlotterbeck doesn’t end up at Anfield if Dortmund are forced into an early sale.
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