In recent weeks, Borussia Dortmund center-back and Germany international Nico Schlotterbeck has been linked with a potential move to Bayern Munich this summer. The rumors come amidst futures being uncertain
for both Dayot Upamecano and Kim min-Jae for the German Rekordmeister as the pair of center backs could both, in theory, wind up leaving this summer. The reigning Bundesliga champions have made inquiries into Schlotterbeck’s situation to knowing that there have been stalls in contract extension talks with Upamecano and that Kim could be a viable candidate for sale in 2026 just as he was this past summer.
Right now, Schlotterbeck’s contract with Dortmund runs through June 2027, so he’s in a crucial period right now. Dortmund are trying to do what they can to propose a package that will get him to agree to a contract extension knowing full well that Bayern, among other clubs in Europe, are interested in trying to sign him.
In the press conference previewing this season’s first installment of der Klassiker between Bayern and Dortmund, both Vincent Kompany and Max Eberl were quick to play down the Schlotterbeck links when they were asked about the topic.
“I only see Nico Schlotterbeck as an opponent tomorrow. Of course I know his profile very well. He’s a player with good progressive passes and links up well with [Serhou] Guirassy. His build-up play is very important for BVB. Otherwise as I said I only see him as an opponent this week,” Kompany explained. The Belgian manager has made it a staple of his as Bayern manager to speak as little as possible about transfer related business and leave those questions to be answered by the club’s front office members.
Much like Kompany, Eberl did not want to speak about Schlotterbeck, but rather focus on the defenders that Bayern currently has, expressing a level of confidence they’ll eventually reach an agreement with Upamecano to extend his contract. “I don’t want to talk about opposing players. We have very good defenders with [Jonathan] Tah, Min-jae, Upa. For us the biggest topic right now is Upa’s contract extension. When other topics arise, then we’ll go on the market and take a look. But for today, I have no comments on that,” he stressed, having been able to provide at least more insight from a transfer business aspect than Kompany was.
Right now, Schlotterbeck is also valuated at €40m via Transfermarkt and Dortmund would likely ask for a higher fee if a transfer should come since this summer would be one of the last windows to be able to sell him if he does not sign a contract extension.
After an eventful international break, Bayern Munich is back in action — and what better way to kick off this portion of the Bundesliga schedule than with Der Klassiker vs. Borussia Dortmund.
This should be fun.
The Bavarians have been riding high and have hammered most teams in their path, while BVB has been extremely solid as well. This should make for quite the battle, so let’s get into it. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:
- What to watch for with Borussia Dortmund.
- A look at Bayern Munich’s injury situation.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
