Liverpool 'very interested' in £42m Borussia Dortmund star defender

Liverpool are reportedly 'very interested' in signing Borussia Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck as a potential successor to Virgil van Dijk.

The German international could be set to leave Dortmund in the summer alongside a raft of team-mates if they miss out on European football.

It has been a disaster season for last season's Champions League finalists, who sit 10th in the Bundesliga, but Schlotterbeck has been praised as a leadership figure.

Liverpool are said to be willing to pay around £42million for the 25-year-old, whose contract expires in 2027, according to Bild's report.

That would make him their second-most expensive defender ever, behind the £75m they paid for Van Dijk in 2018.

The Reds must plan for the future with Van Dijk's contract up in the summer, with Joe Gomez also seen as a possible candidate to leave.

Schlotterbeck, who stands at 6ft 3in, is in his third season with Dortmund and is one of the back-up captains behind former Liverpool man Emre Can.

He is believed to earn around £4.2m per year, as per Capology, which puts him in line with Liverpool's mid-level earners.

Having started his career with SC Freiburg, he spent a season on loan with Union Berlin before making the switch to Germany's second-biggest club.

He has already been named in the Bundesliga team of the season twice, in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

More to follow.