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Liverpool still see Borussia Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck as a potential addition, according to a new claim from journalist Pete O’Rourke.
The Reds are in excellent form, seeing off Brighton 2-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, with Andoni Iraola positively assessing an important victory:
“Very happy. Very happy for today, very happy overall for these four wins. I think we had today a very good opposition in front, similar to Villarreal the other day – teams that technically are really good. It’s difficult to defend them a lot of times. I think today the key was how we started.
“We needed a stronger start, be aggressive, recover the ball, win our duels, be dangerous in transitions. I think we’ve done it and it has been a different game from the last ones, where we’ve conceded first and after you need a comeback. Today, I think we’ve started better and the game has gone differently.”
Speaking to Football Insider, O’Rourke talked up Liverpool’s interest in “long-term’ target Schlotterbeck, who is seen as one of several centre-back options to bring in:
“Nico Schlotterbeck is a long-term target, the Borussia Dortmund and Germany centre-back who was linked with the move to Liverpool last summer. He signed a new deal but I’m sure is a player who is still on their radar.
“Then you’ve got the likes of Murillo at Forest, he is another player that Liverpool have looked at. I’m sure there’ll be other potential targets as well.
“Bastoni at Inter Milan is a player that’s been a long-term target for the Reds, and then Jules Kounde as well at Barcelona, although he’s played right back primarily for them, he can also play at centre-back, and his future at Camp Nou is uncertain.”
Schlotterbeck has been one of the Bundesliga’s leading centre-backs for some time, and the 26-year-old has also won 30 caps for Germany and is likely to be a key figure during Jurgen Klopp’s tenure.
He is a proven defender at the top level, and Iraola may like the quality on the ball at the back, with Dortmund manager Niko Kovac lauding his brilliance in training:
“We wanted to try out another left-footer. I decided upon Schlotti and he really did a great job in training. Plenty of people were probably wondering and rubbing their eyes in disbelief today, but the result provided answers. Especially for him. He does that really well.”
On the face of it, there isn’t much to dislike about Liverpool signing Schlotterbeck, considering the German is right in his peak years and has the attributes to shine under Iraola.
A lot may depend on whether Virgil van Dijk signs a contract extension or not, but equally, an extra centre-back wouldn’t go amiss, especially as Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are such young players who will have dips along the way.
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