Real Madrid fully enter ‘war’ for €70m-rated Bundesliga defender | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s plan for the summer transfer window has been clear from the get-go. The centre-back position was, and continues to be, their highest order priority.

With the futures of David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger now in doubt, the need for a new presence at the back amplifies, and they initially intended to go after a free agent come June.

Now, however, the options of Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate are ruled out and even Marc Guehi does not seem to convince the Merengues’ hierarchy.

Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck, on that front, has emerged as a good target.

Full-blown war

As confirmed by SPORT in a recent update, Real Madrid have fully entered the war to sign Schlotterbeck next summer and are now competing against Barcelona, Bayern Munich and others.

After a period of uncertainty over whether Los Blancos would chase a free agent or enter the bidding market, the decision has been made and the target has been set.

Nico Schlotterbeck is on Real Madrid’s agenda. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Dortmund, however, will not make it easy for any transfer involving the player. They rate him highly and demand a fee of €70 million for his signing, setting a clear price tag on the Real Madrid target.

After all, the player’s contract runs out only in 2027, and there is no rush for them to orchestrate a departure despite the standstill in renewal talks.

So far this season, the 26-year-old has started 11 Bundesliga games for his club and has overseen five clean sheets with an average of over 14 defensive actions per game.

He also produces five recoveries and completes 88% of his passes every 90 minutes.

He is, thus, a stunning target for Real Madrid and the only question now is whether Los Blancos can stretch financially to meet the Germans’ demand.