Watzke rules out Dortmund exodus

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has insisted Mats Hummels, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan will not all be sold at once come the end of the season.

The trio all have contracts with BVB until June 2017, leaving the club potentially contemplating cashing in on them in the summer or risk losing the influential threesome at the enbd of next season.

Dortmund previously lost Robert Lewandowski to Bayern Munich on a free transfer, but Watzke is not too worried about the prospect of potentially losing another star for free.

“I can rule out that three players of their calibre will all leave at once,” Watzke told Bild.

“It should be our goal to bring in a player of the same level if someone leaves us on a free transfer in 2017. We will make that happen.”

Both Hummels and Gundogan have been linked with a move to the Premier League in the past, but Watzke does not think England is the preferred destination for top players any longer.

“The absolute star players do not necessarily go to England,” he added.

“They have not been able to celebrate a World Cup for 50 years and that will not change any time soon.

“And players know that the intensity of playing in England could cut your career short.”