Nico Schlotterbeck has enjoyed a very bright 2021/22 season with SC Freiburg thus far. The defender has scored 4 goals in the Bundesliga for the Breisgau-Brasilianer as Christian Streich’s men sit in 5th place in the table, but level on points with the 4th-placed RB Leipzig. His signature bicep flex goal celebration has become more of frequent sighting this season, and he’s got all of the reasons in the world to be flexing right now, both literally and figuratively.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have both taken notice of Schlotterbeck’s solid performances for Freiburg and are both monitoring his situation at the club. His current contract with the Black Forest club is set to expire next summer, and both Bayern and Dortmund are potentially interested in making a move for the defender. Bayern, in particular, are in need of a defensive replacement for Niklas Sule, who is leaving for Dortmund on a free transfer this summer.
Per new information from Sport1 (via Az), Schlotterbeck is completely open to either staying or leaving SC Freiburg this summer. He is well aware of the fact that the Bundesliga’s top clubs are after him. “Of course there is a possibility that I’ll go in the summer. A change is very likely, but nothing has been decided yet. I don’t rule out staying in Freiburg either. We will sit down together after the season. If I have the feeling that I can still develop in Freiburg, then I’ll stay,” he recently said from Germany’s training camp.
For Bayern, the realistic likelihood of actually getting Schlotterbeck is pretty low, especially considering that he would probably cost upwards of 25-30 million euros if he was to leave Freiburg this summer. Add to that Bayern’s “advanced talks” with Ajax’s Noussair Mazraoui, who also plays as a right back. It would not be financially feasible for Bayern to be able to purchase two right backs for comparable prices, nor would it make much sense, so it seems that it will inevitably come down to one or the other, if either at all.