Chelsea are tempted to sign a ‘dominant’ Germany defender who is ‘exactly’ what Maresca needs

Chelsea They have been tipped to move for a ‘dominant’ German international defender and he is ‘exactly the same’. Enzo Maresca The needs come amid the Blues’ significant lack of centre-back options.

Enzo Maresca demands to sign a centre-back for Chelsea

Before their 2-1 win Premier League Liverpool champions, Maresca is reported to be unhappy with Chelsea’s current squad, as he believes the west London side is still weak in key areas (Simon Phillips).

The most obvious area of ​​Maresca’s squad that desperately needs strengthening is centre-back, and that was on full display against Liverpool on Saturday, after Chelsea opted not to invest part of their £285m summer spending on a natural central defender in the summer.

With Trevuh Chalupa (suspension), Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwell missing the match, Maresca was forced to start youngsters Josh Acheampong and Benoit Badiashile, with the latter having just returned from injury himself.

The Chelsea boss has publicly requested to sign a centre-back before the September 1 summer deadline, but BlueCo are believed to be in agreement with their manager that the player should be a ‘priority’ for January instead (Pete O’Rourke).

They are already making plans in this regard I reached out to Mark Guehi’s camp last week Regarding a possible move to reduce the price in January, with the England international’s contract expiring at the end of 2025/2026.

Chelsea is seeking to sign Borussia Dortmund star Niko Schlotterbeck

Now, a former Premier League chief scout Mick Brownwho remains well connected to the beautiful game, has “heard” that Chelsea are looking at Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck as a potential option.

The Germany international’s deal expires in just under two years, meaning he could be available for a potential fee in the winter window, something Chelsea are actively considering.

“Schlotterbeek is someone I’ve seen a lot of,” he told Football Insider.

“At first I had some concerns about his lack of pace, but he is getting better and better and turning himself into a very capable defender.

“He is a dominant centre-back, a regular in Germany, a very defensive option who likes to win tackles, win headers and take charge of the back line.

“I think he’s exactly the kind of player Chelsea need, because I heard they were taking a look at him.

“They need to improve their defending because their current options are not good enough, it is difficult but I think that has been proven already this season.

“He would definitely be an improvement on what they have at the moment, and he might not be easy to get because Dortmund don’t want to lose him, but they seem to have identified someone who can improve their defence.

“If they’ve done the work and done their due diligence, I can see them moving for it.”

The 25-year-old, who regularly captains Dortmund, also has a questionable injury record – so the BlueCo need to tread carefully here.

Schlotterbeek has missed much of this calendar year with a torn meniscus, which has spilled over into Dortmund’s Club World Cup campaign and early this season after being sidelined towards the end of the 2024/2025 season.

The tall defender may not always be a reliable player depending on his fitness issues, but he could be a very reliable back-up option as Maresca continues to not select ‘Bomb Squad’ member Axel Disasi.