Arne Slot ponders Liverpool's Premier League defeat to Manchester City | Michael Regan/Getty Imagesplaceholder image
Arne Slot ponders Liverpool's Premier League defeat to Manchester City | Michael Regan/Getty Images | Getty Images
Barcelona are also after the Bundesliga superstar centre-back
The Reds conceding almost one goal every two games MORE than last season in the Premier League while hopes that they’d turned a corner through victories against Real Madrid and Aston Villa were unquestionably dashed by Manchester City. Of course, it wasn’t like Liverpool’s highly lauded transfer business was all inherently bad and that extends to the back four additions.
Jeremie Frimpong seemed like a low-risk player who’d lit up Europe for two seasons at Bayer Leverkusen while it’s been a surprise to see how badly Milos Kerkez has struggled at Anfield given his success in the same league last season and 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni was signed as an investment in the future rather than an immediate fix.
But with Ibrahima Konate almost certain to be leaving Liverpool at the end of this season, The Reds will need to fast-track their plans to upgrade at the back with an emphasis on players who can hit the ground running at Anfield. Borussia Dortmund star centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck could be the man for the job.
Schlotterbeck the natural successor to Van Dijk
Almost a decade younger than Van Dijk, Schlotterbeck is cut from the same cloth. Phenomenal both in and out of possession, the German is capable of stopping an opposition attack on the ground or in the air, tenacious in the tackle with fantastic positional instincts.
No centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues have made more ball recoveries, or goal-creating actions per 90 minutes in the last year and he’s in the top 1% for assists, progressive passes, total passing distance and balls into the final third according to Opta via FBref.
And while his defensive numbers don’t pop off the screen quite so much, Schlotterbeck remains a formidable opponent out of possession. Standing 6’3” tall aged 25, he was one of the top 10% of tacklers in his position during last season’s Champions League and boasted a solid success rate of over 70%.
After all, Van Dijk is statistically one of the worst tacklers in Europe - in the bottom 10% for most major tackling categories - but no one cares because he’s rock-solid when it matters. And Schlotterbeck shares that same brilliance and knack for being in the right place at the right time with the right challenge.
While Borussia Dortmund’s attack has faltered this year, their defence remains rock-solid at least in the Bundesliga. Not only do they have the second-best record in the division behind Bayern Munich, and apart from the Bavarians no one else is even close.
A virtual ever-present for The Yellow and Black, the one exception to that was last season when Schlotterbeck missed four games through suspension, one because of illness and six with a meniscus tear. In a display of just how much of a defensive impact the German makes, Dortmund’s goals conceded tally jumped from 1.5 with Schlotterbeck to 1.9 in his absence. However, that kind of output has drawn plenty of attention.
Liverpool must battle Barcelona and Manchester United for Schlotterbeck
Schlotterbeck will be entering the final 18 months of his contract at Signal Iduna Park when the January transfer window opens, and optimism in western Germany that he’ll sign another deal is waning.
Despite Dortmund’s reputation as a talent factory, they’ve spent more than they’ve sold in three of the last four seasons including this one. This summer, the only player to depart for more than seven figures was Jamie Gittens as outside the Englishman, sales raised a meagre €16.5 million (£14.5m). So they can’t afford to lose Schlotterbeck for free and given his price tag will go down in each of the next three transfer windows, The Black and Yellow could well be tempted to sell him in January.
According to TEAMtalk, a bidding war is already forming for his services, involving Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona.
Dortmund want €40m-€50m (£35m-£44m) for the 25-year-old which would usually be an astronomical amount for a player so close to the end of his contract, but Schlotterbeck has the stratospheric talent to command such a fee.
And Liverpool need his contributions at the back. Van Dijk won’t be around forever and even if Leoni can recover from his catastrophic ACL tear that will sign him until 2026/27, The Reds will need to pair him with a more experienced partner when he does become a first-team regular.
Schlotterbeck can be that player and stand guard on The Reds’ goal for the next decade and Liverpool can’t miss the opportunity to sign him in January.
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