Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur have both been interested in signing Freiburg defender Nico Schlotterbeck – but he has now joined Borussia Dortmund.
Schlotterbeck has attracted major interest having been one of the breakout stars of the Bundesliga season.
An elegant left-footed defender, Schlotterbeck is impressive with the ball at his feet and is more than physical enough at 6ft 3in tall.
Add in impressive pace and Schlotterbeck’s rise to international recognition with Germany is no great surprise.
Freiburg are enjoying a great season but Schlotterbeck has been expected to move on for a while now.
Newcastle United made an attempt in the January transfer window. A £40million deal was in the pipeline but 90Min claim that Schlotterbeck rejected the move.
In April, The Athletic noted that Tottenham Hotspur were in the race for Schlotterbeck with Antonio Conte keen to add a left-sided defender.
Both English clubs are unfortunately missing out though because Schlotterbeck has decided to stay in Germany.
On Monday, Borussia Dortmund confirmed the signing of Schlotterbeck after completing a medical.
Bild report that the fee involved is just €25million (£21million) – a far cry from the alleged money Newcastle were offering in January.
Schlotterbeck has moved even closer to the expiration of his contract in 2023, so Freiburg have lost some negotiating power.
Dortmund have been more than happy to swoop in and sign Schlotterbeck, securing a major coup.
Having already snapped up Niklas Sule on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, Dortmund now have their centre back pairing for years to come.
What’s interesting is that Dortmund’s Sebastian Kehl has claimed that Schlotterbeck has rejected more lucrative offers.
We would assume those offers came from clubs like Tottenham and Newcastle, with Dortmund delighted to land a player Kehl claims has ‘huge potential’.
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