Liverpool are believed to be willing to spend more than £40m to secure the signing of a “great” player this summer, seeing him as a possible successor to Virgil van Dijk at the heart of their defence.
Futures of legendary Liverpool trio still unclear
The Reds may be closing in on Premier League title glory this season, but there are still genuine concerns surrounding the futures of Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.
All three Liverpool legends are out of contract at the end of this season, and as things stand, none of them have signed new deals yet. It is a precarious position to be in, and one that has left plenty of supporters frustrated, in terms of the club not sorting the situation sooner.
Alexander-Arnold has been continually linked with a move to Real Madrid for many months now, and the fact that the Reds’ vice-captain hasn’t silenced those rumours suggests that there is a real chance that he could move to the reigning Champions League holders in the summer transfer window.
While Van Dijk and Salah have appeared to be the more likely two to stay put at Liverpool beyond this season, the former has been backed to seal a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool line up £40m+ deal to replace Van Dijk – Sky Sports
According to Sky Sports’ Sacha Tavolieri, Liverpool are willing to pay around €50m (£42m) plus possible bonuses to sign Nico Schlotterbeck this summer, with a move to the Premier League a distinct possibility.
The Borussia Dortmund centre-back still has two years remaining on his current deal, but the Bundesliga side will be powerless to do anything if his clause is met.
It goes without saying that Van Dijk will hopefully sign a contract extension with Liverpool as soon as possible, putting to bed any talks of him leaving. If the worst-case scenario does happen and the colossal Reds skipper moves on, however, Schlotterbeck could be a good long-term replacement for him.
The 25-year-old has now racked up 123 appearances for Dortmund, as well as winning 18 caps for Germany, and former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann has lauded his ability, saying:
“He is a great player, very good in tackling and strong in heading. He’s probably one of the best centre-backs in terms of ball-playing skills, not just in Germany, but in all of Europe. I really hope he can finally take the next step now.”
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Schlotterbeck is at a great age to come in, possessing lots of experience but also still being young enough to find extra gears, and his quality on the ball would surely appeal to Arne Slot, not to mention defensive expertise that has seen him average three clearances and 2.3 tackles per game across 12 Champions League appearances this season.
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