Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed, for the first time, that Ilkay Gundogan will definitely be leaving the Westfalenstadion in the summer amid interest from Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
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The midfielder’s contract expires in 2016, but the club’s announcement [via BBC Sport] that he would not be renewing his current contract was telling that he would be leaving at the end of the season, along with manager Jurgen Klopp.
Watzke confirmed that Gundogan will certainly be moving on when the market opens, telling German newspaper Sport-BILD, “He will leave in the summer of Borussia Dortmund, which is unquestionable.
“It was not our wish that he goes. But it was his wish,” he added.
“Then we said: Ok, then we will also sell you and focus our plans differently.
“And so it is: Ilkay Gundogan is leaving in the summer of Borussia Dortmund, which is beyond question. And I am quite confident that there are multiple suitors for him.”
The report claims that Arsenal and Manchester United are among the favourites for his signature, but Bayern Munich are the latest club to enter the transfer chase.
With Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowksi having recently made the move to the Allianz Arena, BVB are not against selling to their fierce Bundesliga rivals. What’s more, Dortmund are keen on 19-year-old Bayern midfielder Pierre Hojbjerg and could be interested by a swap deal.
The youngster is set to be sold given he doesn’t appear to be a part of Pep Guardiola’s plans, and an exchange for Gundogan is not out of the question.