Nico Schlotterbeck joined SC Freiburg at U19 level and won the U19 DFB-Pokal with the youth team in 2018. The centre back made his professional debut the following season and has gone on to play a total of 53 competitive games for the club, in addition to 18 appearances for Union Berlin during a loan spell in the 2020/21 season. In March, Schlotterbeck made his debut for the Germany national team.

“It’s no secret that we would have liked Nico to stay here beyond the current season,” said sporting director Jochen Saier. “Taking into account the contract situation, we had to make a decision and came to a solution that all parties were in agreement with. It’s good for us to have clarity at an early stage and we can go about our squad planning. The transfer proves again that we can offer young players a fantastic opportunity to develop. Nico will give his all in the remaining three games for us. After that, we’ll have a fitting send off.

Nico Schlotterbeck said, “I have decided to announce my transfer to Dortmund today after speaking to all involved parties. In doing so, I hope to bring clarity for myself, SC Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund. I’d also like to fully focus on the final phase of the season and concentrate solely on the next three games with Freiburg and we’ll hopefully be successful. After that, I’ll look forward to my time in Dortmund.”

No further contract details will be disclosed.