Liverpool miss out to Borussia Dortmund on Bundesliga centre-back

Waldemar Anton has chosen Borussia Dortmund as his next club, despite reported interest from Liverpool under new head coach Arne Slot.

Anton rose suddenly to prominence in 2023/24, captaining Stuttgart to second place in the Bundesliga and a first Champions League qualification since 2009. He made his Germany debut in March at the age of 27 and is currently part of the host nation’s squad at Euro 2024.

An enquiry from Liverpool was reported earlier this month by Sport Bild to have happened at the end of May. Anton has a €22.5m (£19m) release clause thanks to a new Stuttgart contract agreed in January, but there has been competition from Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen throughout.

But Anton made his choice and opted for Dortmund, which has seemingly been confirmed by Rudi Voller, currently sporting director of Germany's national team setup.

"He ultimately decided on Borussia Dortmund. My former club Bayer Leverkusen also wanted him," Voller has said of Anton's situation while with the team at Euro 2024.

Liverpool are in need of defensive reinforcement, with Joel Matip's contract to imminently expire and Joe Gomez largely redeployed as a utility full-back cover over the past year. The previously urgent need for a new centre-back was somewhat allayed by the emergence of Jarell Quansah, although now Virgil van Dijk is about to turn 33 and enter the final year of his Anfield contract.

There has been reported interest in teenage prodigy Leny Yoro, who Lille have already confirmed they would like to sell ahead of his contract expiring in 2025, although Real Madrid are favourites in that particular race. Links with various other options include Chelsea's Levi Colwill, Leverkusen's Piero Hincapie and, more recently, impressive Italy international Riccardo Calafiori.

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