Waldemar Anton makes final Liverpool transfer decision as 'agreement reached'

Stuttgart defender Waldemar Anton has snubbed Liverpool's interest and agreed to sign for Borussia Dortmund this summer, with the 27-year-old keen to stay in the Bundesliga.

Liverpool has been pursuing defensive options as Joel Matip is leaving the club after eight seasons and set its sights on the Stuttgart captain. Anton impressed last season and helped Stuttgart secure a place in the Champions League, finishing one point ahead of Bayern Munich.

Head coach Arne Slot still has Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, and Jarell Quansah to choose from in the center-back position, but with Matip's departure confirmed it remains a transfer priority. Anton also has a cut-price $23.5 million release clause, one that's been triggered by Dortmund according to BILD.

Liverpool also has Sepp van den Berg returning to Anfield this summer, following his successful loan spell at Mainz. The Bundesliga team has been looking to sign the 22-year-old permanently, but Slot may opt to keep the young defender if reinforcements can't be found.

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Anton was seen as a smart investment within the Liverpool hierarchy, especially as the last player they signed from Stuttgart turned out to be a steal. After Liverpool's pursuit of Moises Caicedo was hijacked by Chelsea last summer, they spent $23 million on Japanese midfielder Endo and the former Stuttgart star enjoyed a solid season in the Premier League.

Stuttgart would've been open to dealing with Liverpool again but instead may see their captain join a Bundesliga rival. Anton was named in both the Bundesliga and Player’s Team of the Season alongside Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah.

Slot confirmed in his first interview as Liverpool coach that recruitment has already been discussed with sporting director Richard Hughes, but so far the Reds are yet to reach an agreement with any targets. Departing head coach Jurgen Klopp handed over Liverpool in very good hands, but Slot still wants to bring in several players that suit his playing style.

So far Slot has focused on coaching changes, after hiring Fabian Otte as a new goalkeeping coach to work with Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher. Sipke Hulshoff joins as his assistant, and Ruben Peeters has also joined Liverpool as a performance coach.

"[There are] still one or two positions to fill in and we are talking about this and having meetings about this as well," Slot said. The new Liverpool coach is already feeling confident about next season and believes he can deliver a bigger points total than Klopp managed in his final season (82) and make a title charge.

"[A] real good team, real good players, managed to be on top for a very long time, but I think in the end we would all love to see Liverpool a bit higher than third place and this is the challenge we are facing now – to build on from what we have," Slot added. "I have all the confidence in this because of the players, that we can add a few things where we hopefully can get a bit more points than 82, which is necessary with the likes of Arsenal and City, to end up hopefully a bit higher than we did this season."