Borussia Dortmund to start contract talks with Gundogan next month
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has revealed the Bundesliga club are ready to open contract talks with Ilkay Gundogan.
The Germany international's existing deal is due to expire in the summer of 2016 and clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid have all been linked with Gundogan over the past few years.
Nevertheless, Dortmund are keen to hold on to the 24-year-old midfielder beyond the length of his current contract and will start negotiations shortly.
"[Sporting director] Michael Zorc will certainly look into a potential renewal for Gundogan in the next few weeks," Watzke was quoted as saying by Sport Bild.
A new deal for Gundogan would be a further boost to Dortmund after Marco Reus signed a contract extension last week. The winger put pen to paper on a new deal until 2019 despite interest from several major clubs - although his team-mate is yet to commit his future to BVB.
"I cannot say anything about it at the moment. But I am very happy that Marco Reus has signed a new deal," he commented on a potential new deal.
Gundogan joined Dortmund from Nurnberg in the summer of 2011 but missed the majority of the 2013-14 campaign with a back injury before finally returning to the fold this term, making 11 Bundesliga appearances so far in 2014-15.
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