Dortmund are hopeful of keeping hold of Gundogan.
Borussia Dortmund are hoping to ward off interest from Arsenal and Manchester United in midfielder Ilkay Gundogan by tying the German down to a new contract, according to the Daily Express.
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There has been a lot of interest from the Premier League in the 23-year-old, with Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid also keen, along with Dortmund’s Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.
Yet the Black and Yellows chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke says that the club are hoping to get Gundogan to sign a new deal at the Signal Aduna Park before the 2014 World Cup starts.
“Ilkay Gundogan is an important player of our squad we want to keep at our club,” Watzke said.
“We have submitted a contract offer to Ilkay Gundogan and we are expecting to hear from him about it.
“And we are certainly not going to need to wait until the summer to see him reply.”
Gundogan has barely featured for Dortmund this season due to a long-term absence caused by a back injury sustained in the early part of the campaign.
The Germany international is expected to return to first team action before the term finishes, but that does mean his chances of making the squad for the World Cup unlikely.
The midfield ace has been impressing under Jurgen Klopp since a transfer from FC Nurnberg in 2011, winning the Bundesliga title that year as well as helping the team reach the Champions League final 12 months ago.
Gundogan is a box-to-box midfielder who is just as comfortable helping the team out in defence as he is being the source of creativity in attack and would be a useful addition to either the Gunners’ or United’s squad.
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