Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck had been talking to Newcastle United before a knee injury brought an end to his season.
That’s according to Sky Germany, who report that Schlotterbeck spoke on the phone with Newcastle and was receptive to the offer they were making him.
They report that while Dortmund and Schlotterbeck are ‘a perfect fit’, with him set to become one of their key players and considered a captain of the future, that hasn’t stopped him speaking to Newcastle.
He had a ‘video call’ with them earlier this season. Sky do not specify when it happened, but insist it was before he suffered a torn meniscus in April. During this video call, the defender ‘at least listened to Newcastle’s thoughts’.
The topic has cooled somewhat since he suffered his injury, but Dortmund are aware of Newcastle’s interest in the 25-year-old. They’ve been interested in him for a while and even tried to sign him from Freiburg in the summer of 2022.Schlotterbeck signed for Dortmund and Newcastle signed Sven Botman instead.
A deal is now unlikely to happen as it’s expected that Schlotterbeck will remain at Dortmund in the long-term. Talks are already underway about an extended deal; he would be the top earner at the club.
He was speaking to Newcastle, though, and perhaps it was simply fate that stopped it become something more concrete.
