Liverpool centre-back boost as top target REJECTS new contract

Liverpool are wrestling with a lot of issues and their defence is dominating the conversations.

Both on and off the pitch, the back-line is causing waves. Firstly, the Reds have conceded 22 goals in 14 games, which is a major problem. We've lost six of our last seven games in all competitions.

Full-back pairing are all out of sync and the normally imperious partnership between Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate is blowing hot and cold. Furthermore, Giovanni Leoni has torn his ACL ligament.

Off the pitch, however, it's not less stressful, with the Frenchman still set to leave at the end of the season as a free agent - contract negotiations aren't going well - and players left, right and centre are being linked with the Reds for potential moves, although it's an extremely complex spiral.

There is one potential target who might just have offered Liverpool an encouraging update in the hunt for his signature, although the underlying context behind his situation is a headache in itself.

Schlotterbeck REJECTS contract offer

According to a report from Sport Witness, citing a BILD update, 25-year-old Nico Schlotterbeck has rejected Borussia Dortmund's initial contract offer of €8m plus bonuses, since he knows that his teammate Niklas Süle is earning €14m per year, meaning there's still a lot of negotiating to do.

This is a boost for the Reds, because initial reports from Germany claimed that Liverpool weren't even interested in the centre-back, yet we're continually linked with him by BILD who have just provided the latest update. For now, it seems fair to take the claims in these reports at face value.

Knowing that Schlotterbeck's contract runs out in 2027 means that we're likely to see his price tag fall very soon, if negotiations continue to come up dry. Alternatively, if the German is convinced that he won't get what he wants from Dortmund, then he could look elsewhere prematurely.

Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are all listed as interested parties and the extra level of complexity here comes with the fact that Konate's future is in doubt, Madrid might have to replace David Alaba and Antonio Ruddier this summer, and Bayern might lose Dayot Upamecano on a free.

Schlotterbeck is certainly one of the Reds' most highly-regarded targets. His leadership experience makes him an ideal replacement for Van Dijk when the Dutchman decided to step down from the top level and he would be able to cover Konate straight away, if the Frenchman chooses not to renew.

The problem, however, is that €14m (£12.33m) per year is an extremely high salary for a defender.

Liverpool's captain is currently on £350,000 a week according to Capology, although his wage has been increased over the years to such a level to reward his extraordinary efforts on the field. For most, if not all, of the time he's spent with the Reds' he's been regarded as one best in the world.

Schlotterbeck is highly-regarded, but he isn't quite in that echelon quite yet. As such, £237,000 a week might be a bit a stretch for Liverpool. It would make him the fifth best paid player at the club.

Whether that's an affordable transfer is still very much in doubt, although the general likelihood that the German will be on the move in the near future has certainly increased following this latest update, so there is reason to be cautiously optimistic that he could be a possible future-Red.

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