Conflicting reports: SC Freiburg’s Nico Schlotterbeck might — or might not— be on Bayern Munich’s radar

Just last month, we saw SC Freiburg center-back and Germany international Nico Schlotterbeck insinuate that he had a long range goal of playing for a top club domestically.

While he did not specifically state that Bayern Munich was his desired destination, it appears that Bavaria was atop Schlotterbeck’s list. Now, we are seeing the interest might just be mutual.

According to a report from Bild (as captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich is just as interested in Schlotterbeck as the player is in the club. Christian Falk, however, is reporting that the rumors of Bayern Munich’s interest are overblown:

Of course, there are several outside factors involved before any move could happen as Falk indicated.

Schlotterbeck’s deal with SC Freiburg runs through 2023, which would potentially put him on the market as soon as this upcoming summer. Bayern Munich, though, is sorting through whether or not Niklas Süle will extend his contract. Lucas Hernandez (2024), Benjamin Pavard (2024), Tanguy Nianzou (2024), and Dayot Upamecano (2026) still have some time before Bayern Munich needs to make a call on any of their respective futures with the club, which creates a lot of traffic at the position.

Pavard could easily be considered part of the center-back mix given how often Julian Nagelsmann’s formation shifts to a back-three and the Frenchman has a long-term desire to play that position as well.

In addition, Chris Richards (2025) and Lars Lukas Mai (2023) are both first-team ready, but could see their respective futures play out elsewhere given the club’s current backlog at the position.

Should Bayern Munich actually pursue Schlotterbeck this summer, it would not be inconceivable for some other dominoes to fall along the backline within the group of players who are currently in the mix.