Injury ends Newcastle United's pursuit of German international following video call earlier this season

Newcastle United are on the lookout for defensive options ahead of this summer's transfer window after failing to land Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace last summer.

Sven Botman has missed most of this season following his ACL surgery last year and then picking up an issue with his other knee shortly after his return to action.

Jamaal Lascelles underwent the same surgery as Botman at around the same time, but the club captain will not be seen on the pitch this season.

Meanwhile, Dan Burn and Fabian Schar have had to hold down the fort on their own all season because of a lack of depth in defence.

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Newcastle had made contact with Nico Schlotterbeck earlier this season

While Marc Guehi still remains a likely summer transfer target, Newcastle have been working on a move for Borussia Dortmund and Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck, according to Sky Sports Germany.

Indeed, their report claims that Newcastle had a video call with Schlotterbeck earlier this season, which suggests things were moving in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the 25-year-old has picked up a knee injury that is likely to keep him out of action for months and therefore making it highly unlikely he'll get a summer move.

Newcastle United have plenty of other transfer targets to pursue

Newcastle still have plenty of other targets on their list beyond Schlotterbeck and Guehi with AC Milan's Malick Thiaw still of interest as well as Bournemouth's Illya Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen.

There are also likely to be plenty of other names that haven't yet made it into the media.

While it's not great news for Schlotterbeck, it's just as well for Newcastle that the injury happened before any deal was struck.