Deal off? Real Madrid Set To Look Elsewhere After Moving On From Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck

It has been well reported via many sources that Real Madrid have held a long-standing interest in Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck for some time.

With it being said at one point that not only did newly appointed manager Jose Mourinho specifically want Nico Schlotterbeck, but reports went as far as to say that Real Madrid were preparing an offer for Borussia Dortmund in order to accelerate their chances of securing the German's signature.

The 6ft 3in centre half was seen as an ideal addition for Real Madrid, with the idea being he would partner newly signed French centre half Ibrahima Konate at the heart of Jose Mourinho's defence as he looked to ensure that the disappointments of last season in the Spanish capital do not happen again next season.

However, despite it appearing highly likely that Real Madrid would at the very least test the waters when it came to a transfer for Nico Schlotterbeck, recent reports suggest this is not to be the case.

This is as The Athletic have reported, via @bvbnewsblog, that Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid are still aiming to sign another centre half this summer, however, Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck is out of the running, according to sources at Madrid.

So then the question is, what has changed for Real Madrid to perform such a dramatic U-turn? The obvious answer is probably the correct one in that fact that Nico Schlotterbeck has picked up a serious injury while playing for Germany at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

So it is likely that not only have Real Madrid been put off signing a player for a sizeable fee that is currently injured, but it would also appear that there is a sense of urgency in Real Madrid's transfer business this summer, as shown by the moves for Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella and the previously mentioned Ibrahima Konate, so waiting around to see how Nico Schlotterbeck's recovery progresses is something that Real Madrid are seemingly unwilling to do.

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So now that Real Madrid are set to look elsewhere, the question is, does this mean that Nico Schlotterbeck will remain a Borussia Dortmund player for another year?

And the answer to that is unknown really, but what is true is that the injury Nico Schlotterbeck has sustained against the Ivory Coast has certainly increased the likelihood of the German staying with the Yellow Wall until January at the very least, if not until next summer.

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So seemingly, while obviously it is far from ideal that Nico Schlotterbeck is injured and it will undoubtedly impact Borussia Dortmund’s preparations and early games in the new season, it has also put off clubs wanting to sign the German defender. 

They are not prepared to take the risk on a player who will have had zero pre-season and will be fresh off the back of a multiple-month injury layoff, so because of this, it could result in Borussia Dortmund retaining their star centre half in the short term.

But should he come back from this injury and start to perform like he was before this injury, then the interest from Europe’s elite clubs will inevitably return.