Priority Liverpool target DAZZLES in front of club scouts

One of Liverpool’s priorities next summer will be to source a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk.

The Reds’ captain has become a club legend since signing for £75m from Southampton back in 2018. He recently secured a new contract - reported to be worth £400k per week - which will end in 2027.

Having already turned 34, Van Dijk is showing no signs of slowing down but the time will soon come for Liverpool to move on.

The club seem to prefer finding a successor in 2026 rather than leaving it until the last minute when the entire market is aware of their immediate needs.

Schlotterbeck emerges on the radar

And over the course of the last few weeks some links have emerged with senior centre-back options.

Marc Guehi leads the charge of course but it’s going to become a lot more difficult to land the England international than it was last summer because he is coming out of contract.

And then there’s others such as Jan Paul van Hecke and Ronald Araujo. One more intriguing option has surfaced during the current international window in the shape of Nico Schlotterbeck.

Liverpool scouts check out Germany

The Germany international is loved by his club Borussia Dormund but they have been unable to tie him down to a new deal.

Schlotterbeck is out of contract in 2027 and if no agreement is reached then there is a realistic shot of the Premier League champions securing a deal for him.

The 25-year-old was reported to be the subject of recent transfer talks between Liverpool and his intermediaries.

And he was very much on the radar last Monday night when Liverpool scouting staff attended the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualification match between Northern Ireland and Germany.

Schlotterbeck's game in numbers

“Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool were also in attendance for the FIFA World Cup qualifier,” a report in TBR Football reads.

Whether Schlotterbeck was indeed the subject of the transfer mission remains to be seen but Liverpool staffers will have left licking their lips.

He was imperious once again as Julian Nagelsmann’s side kept a clean sheet in Belfast - earning top marks on Sofascore.

Schlotterbeck completed 77 of 87 passes from his station as left-sided centre-back - winning five of his six aerial duels and three out of five ground duels.

He also made eight clearances and eight recoveries across his 90+ minutes on the pitch - and no Northern Ireland player managed to dribble past him either.

Those are Van Dijk-like numbers and should be reason enough to have Richard Hughes keeping tabs at the very least.

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