Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel has confirmed the club are in talks with Bayern Munich for the signature of Holger Badstuber this month.
Badstuber, 28, has been heavily linked with a move away from Bayern this month after emerging as a potential transfer target for Pep Guardiola at City.
However, the City manager not only faces competition from Swansea, as Paul Clement looks to use his relationship with Bayern to land the Germany international, but now also Bundesliga side Schalke.
“We don’t deny that there’s been contact with Holger Badstuber, but further talks must be held,” Get German Football quote Heidel as saying. “We have to try and put together a deal that satisfies all the parties involved.
“Holger Badstuber is one of the best centre backs I’ve ever known for opening up the game.”
Badstuber has suffered a terrible time with injuries in the last few years that have really limited his involvement at Bayern, coupled with the fact Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng are now both firmly above him in the pecking order.
In fact, the Bayern defender has only started 14 Bundesliga matches in the last three seasons, but has the best pass success rate of any player to have started at least 10 matches in that time (92.7%).
For more stats on Holger Badstuber, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
