Mario Gotze set to leave Borussia Dortmund as West Ham and Everton eye free transfer move
MARIO GOTZE will leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer – with West Ham and Everton possible destinations, according to reports.
The 27-year-old has been on the fringes at the Bundesliga side this season, starting only five of their 25 league matches.
And with his contract expiring on June 30, a number of clubs are interested in the former Germany international.
According to Bild, a contract extension in Westphalia is “impossible” – but Gotze will only attract “category B clubs”.
West Ham and Everton are among those interested in the attacking midfielder, but will not match his current salary.
Gotze is believed to pocket around £170,000-a-week at Signal Iduna Park, but owing to his lack of recent form would have to take a pay cut to come to the Premier League.
It is thought that the former Bayern Munich attacker will have options in China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – but would rather stay in one of Europe’s top leagues.
AC Milan are also interested in capturing his signature.
Gotze seemingly had the world at his feet when as a 21-year-old he scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana, but things haven’t quite panned out the way he would have planned since.
Then at Bayern, having initially ditched Dortmund in 2013 when the Bavarians met his £33million release clause – he was to return to BVB in 2016 – admitting that he made a mistake.
A series of illnesses and injuries have seen him struggle to replicate the form of his early career, however, which has lead to his importance to Lucien Favre’s side waning.
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Former Dortmund star Michael Rummenigge recently gave his brutal assessment of the fading star.
He said: “He has lost speed and should change his game, be more direct. He is not a striker.
“In addition, he should leave all this crap in the social networks and concentrate solely on the sport.
“Sometimes when I see him on Instagram, I wonder if he’s still a footballer or more of a show talent.”
