Dortmund plan Weigl talks to ward off Bayern as Rode arrives

Borussia Dortmund are planning contract talks to ward Bayern Munich off Julian Weigl, with Sebastian Rode set to swap the Allianz Arena for Signal Iduna Park.

Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski and, this summer, Mats Hummels have left Dortmund to join Bayern – with the departures of captain Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan prompting top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to demand a meeting with club officials to discuss future plans.

Marc Bartra has already been signed to cover the loss of Hummels in defence, while Rode – who has arrived in Dortmund for talks with BVB – would boost the club in the wake of Gundogan’s departure to join departing Bayern boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Weigl is reportedly next on Bayern’s radar after an impressive breakthrough season under Thomas Tuchel, making 30 Bundesliga appearances and earning a spot in Germany’s Euro 2016 squad.

Dortmund general manager Michael Zorc believes the 20-year-old should remain at Dortmund and build on that success, with an extension to his contract – expiring in 2019 – likely to be on the table.

“Julian being taken to the European Championship is the culmination of his outstanding season,” Zorc told Bild.

“This makes me very happy for him and he has also earned it.

“We will certainly sit together after the Euros in a calm manner to discuss everything else.”

Rode has spent the past two seasons at Bayern, but struggled to break into Guardiola’s regular plans and said in March that the Catalan coach rarely spoke to him.

“Only the medicals are missing, then it’s complete,” he told Ruhr Nachrichten after landing at Dortmund airport.