Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Mario Gotze would welcome arrival of Marco Reus at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Gotze has said he would welcome the signing of former Borussia Dortmund colleague Marco Reus, who returned from injury as BVB's poor start to the season continued with a 2-1 defeat to Cologne.

Germany international Reus, along with Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, was back in the Dortmund lineup on Saturday.

He set up Ciro Immobile's equaliser but was unable to prevent Jurgen Klopp's men from sliding to a third successive Bundesliga defeat.

Reus, 25, is under contract until 2017, but has a reported 25 million-euro release clause that can be triggered next summer.

Speaking to Sky at the weekend, Gotze said: "Marco and I get along really well. I am also happy to see him with the national team.

"We had a great year at Dortmund, and of course I'd be happy he if were to join us. But that's his decision."

#INSERT type:image caption:Marco Reus returned but was unable to prevent another Dortmund defeat. END#

Reus has said he wants to win titles, and last week Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the Bundesliga champions were "obliged" to consider signing the BVB vice-captain if he opted to move on.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Bayern's Champions League trip to Roma, Rummenigge, quoted by FAZ, told reporters: "I have to be fair and square about this -- we'll discuss it internally and make a decision.

"At the end of the day, the player also has to decide. We all know about the clause, and I don't want to say more about."

He expressed sympathy for Dortmund's current difficulties, explaining: "I am not a fan of kicking someone who's already on the ground.These are things that happen -- we also had a false start once and were at the centre of criticism."

Dortmund's defeat, which leaves them with only seven points from eight league matches, means they have made their worst start to a season for 27 years.

It led coach Jurgen Klopp to warn that the club needed to turn their form around now "and not tomorrow".

"You can also call this a relegation battle," he told WDR 2 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, sporting director Michael Zorc said the club faced their "most difficult period in years."

"I get the impression that we are a bit short all over the place," he told Dortmund's official website. "We lack composure up front and at the back we keep making presents of goals. So-called leaders are making huge mistakes. Up front we lack penetration. [It is] our most difficult time in years."

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