Liverpool ‘very interested’ in £42m Borussia Dortmund star defender, who could be the poster-boy of a desperate FIRE SALE and a potential successor to Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool are reportedly ‘very interested’ in signing Borussia Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck as a potential successor to Virgil van Dijk.

The German international could be set to leave Dortmund in the summer alongside a raft of team-mates if they miss out on European football.

It has been a disaster season for last season’s Champions League finalists, who sit 10th in the Bundesliga, but Schlotterbeck has been praised as a leadership figure. 

Liverpool are said to be willing to pay around £42million for the 25-year-old, whose contract expires in 2027, according to Bild’s report. 

That would make him their second-most expensive defender ever, behind the £75m they paid for Van Dijk in 2018. 

The Reds must plan for the future with Van Dijk’s contract up in the summer, with Joe Gomez also seen as a possible candidate to leave.

He could be a successor to Kop favourite Virgil van Dijk, whose contract expires in the summer 

Schlotterbeck, who stands at 6ft 3in, is in his third season with Dortmund and is one of the back-up captains behind former Liverpool man Emre Can. 

He is believed to earn around £4.2m per year, as per Capology, which puts him in line with Liverpool’s mid-level earners. 

Having started his career with SC Freiburg, he spent a season on loan with Union Berlin before making the switch to Germany’s second-biggest club.

He has already been named in the Bundesliga team of the season twice, in 2021-22 and 2022-23. 

Last season he was an instrumental part of the team which reached the Champions League final and started in the showpiece event as Dortmund lost 2-0 to Real Madrid. 

Liverpool have had good fortune recruiting from the Bundesliga over the past decade, picking up success stories such as Roberto Firmino, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, Can, and Dominik Szoboszlai. 

Their chances of landing Schlotterbeck will hinge partly on how Dortmund fare in Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 second leg against Lille. 

Dortmund visit northern France with the score level at 1-1 and crashing out at this stage could be the nail in the coffin for their stars’ confidence in the club.

However, if Dortmund can mount another deep run and improve their league form, that could persuade some of their key stars to stay put.  

More to follow.