Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Ilkay Gundogan asks to leave BVB but Mario Gotze swap talk played down

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that Ilkay Gundogan has asked to leave this summer but cooled talk the midfielder could be used in a swap deal with Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze.

Dortmund have already announced that Gundogan, whose contract expires in 2016, will not extend his deal with the club and sporting director Michael Zorc has now confirmed that the Germany international wants to move on sooner rather than later.

"He wants to leave us in the summer. That's what he told us," Zorc told Sky on Sunday evening.

Sources told ESPN FC last month that Bayern, Juventus and Manchester United all held an interest in the 24-year-old, and Zorc added: "Depending on the offers on the table, we will make a decision."

However, he played down a rumour in Bild that Gundogan could be used as part of a deal to take Gotze back to the Westfalenstadion.

Germany international Gotze had controversially left Dortmund in the summer of 2013 after Bayern paid his €37 million release clause, fuelling tension between the two clubs that only increased when Pep Guardiola's side signed Robert Lewandowski when his contract expired the following year.

However, the clubs' relationship has improved recently, and Zorc said on Saturday that Dortmund would be willing to sell Gundogan to Bayern, even if they would prefer to sell him abroad.

That paved the way for speculation of a swap deal involving Gotze but, when asked about the rumours, Zorc said: "That's the first I've heard about it. We sold him to Bayern Munich for a high price. He is a Bayern Munich player, and I can't imagine that."

Gotze, 22, was considered one of the brightest talents to emerge in German football for some time when he came through the youth ranks at Dortmund but, while he became a national hero after scoring the winning goal in last summer's World Cup final, he has struggled to live up to his potential during his two seasons at Bayern.

He has scored 29 goals and made 19 assists in 84 appearances for Bayern, but he has recently fallen down the pecking order under Guardiola, who selected Mitchell Weiser ahead of him for the recent DFB Pokal semifinal defeat to Dortmund.

Gotze was handed a chance in the 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday as Guardiola rested several key players ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Barcelona, but the midfielder wasted two good opportunities to score.

"If we took our chances, and that applies to me especially, then things would have been different," Gotze said after the game.

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