Fabrizio Romano confirms Real Madrid is interested in joining Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck's transfer race..
2026-03-06 10:15
Sky Sports' renowned Italian transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, exclusively reported on Thursday in his paid column that Real Madrid are interested in joining the race to sign Borussia Dortmund's Germany international defender Nico Schlotterbeck.
According to Romano, Real Madrid have sent scouts to Germany several times over the past two months to observe Schlotterbeck's match performances.
However, unlike typical scouting work, the scouts have primarily visited Signal Iduna Park to observe Schlotterbeck's ability to handle pressure and strong opponents during matches against top clubs and opponents.
He said that although Brazil international forward Rodrygo's torn right ACL, which will rule him out for the rest of the season and is expected to prevent him from playing for a full year, has indeed affected Real Madrid's transfer plans this summer, center-back and midfield remain key positions that Los Blancos want to strengthen the most.
With Schlotterbeck's contract expiring in the summer of 2027, Borussia Dortmund may agree to sell him during this summer transfer window if the player chooses to pursue other challenges.
However, the La Liga giants are not the only club considering signing Schlotterbeck.
Romano added that several Premier League clubs have also expressed strong interest in signing him.
Currently, Liverpool is one of the league's clubs confirmed to be interested in joining the race for Schlotterbeck's signature.
The Reds' sporting director, Richard Hughes, is also ready to approach the player's agents.
About Nico Schlotterbeck
The 26-year-old Nico Schlotterbeck was born on December 1, 1999, in Weiblingen, Germany. He is 1.91 meters tall and primarily plays as a center-back, but can also play as a left-back. His brother, Keven, is also a professional footballer, currently playing for Augsburg, also as a center-back.
Schlotterbeck played for the youth academies of Ahlen and Karlsruhe during his childhood. He joined Freiburg's youth academy in 2017, started playing for their B team the following year before completing his Freiburg first-team debut in March 2019.
The following summer, Schlotterbeck was loaned-out to Union Berlin.
During his loan spell, he finished second in a German football magazine's poll for Best Young Defender, thanks to the club's surprising qualification to the UEFA Conference League.
Upon returning to the club following the end of his loan spell in the summer of 2021, Schlotterbeck became a regular starter for the first team. During this spell, he helped the team club the DFB-Pokal final.
In July of the following year, Schlotterbeck moved to Borussia Dortmund for €25 million.
Since joining BVB, Schlotterbeck has made 151 appearances for the Bundesliga powerhouse in all competitions so far, scoring 10 goals and providing 18 assists, where has helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League final once and set a league record for the highest tackle success rate (71%) in the 2023/24 season.
Image source: Internet / Sky Sports Germany
