Bayern Munich attacking midfielder Mario Gotze has been urged to consider a summer move to Liverpool despite seemingly committing his future to the Bavarian giants. The 23-year-old played a bit-part during Pep Guardiola's final season at the Allianz Arena, partly down to a long-term hamstring injury, but that has led to concerns over his future under incoming boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Gotze claimed last week that he had held talks with the Italian coach regarding next season and rejected suggestions he was told to leave Bayern this summer. The Germany World Cup winner has since confirmed he will attend the first day of training under Ancelotti following the summer's European Championships – raising the prospect of him remaining at the club.

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The Sun has reported since the conversation between Gotze and Ancelotti that Liverpool are closing in on a £20m ($29m) deal for the player, who worked with Jurgen Klopp during the pair's spell at Borussia Dortmund prior to his move to the Bundesliga champions. Former Bayern boss Ottmar Hitzfeld believes a switch to Merseyside would benefit both parties.

"I don't know what really happened between Mario Gotze and Carlo Ancelotti, if Ancelotti really called him or if Gotze called Ancelotti or if the club was mediator," he told Omnisport. "That's not 100% certain. There is a lot of speculation and I also advised Goetze to talk to Ancelotti to see what his plans for him are and if his chances are better than under Guardiola.

"I have heard that Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp might be interested and I thought that's a good idea, because Goetze is a very good player, who could also improve Liverpool. They don't have any similar, technically strong players in attack. Mario Gotze would fit in well at Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, who knows Goetze, is someone who has supported him before. He would instantly have a relationship of trust, so it would be a win-win situation."

"Bayern is buying good players regularly and they have also improved their team by extending current players' contracts early. Buying a big name like [Lionel] Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, Neymar or [Luis] Suarez, that's not something Bayern would do. It's not the philosophy of Bayern to pay colossal wages or to pay maybe €100m plus for a top player. That wouldn't be Bayern's style."

Klopp is yet to benefit from the addition of a single permanent signing, having acquired Steven Caulker on loan from Queens Park Rangers, allowed Marko Grujic to return on loan to Red Star Belgrade following his January move, while Joel Matip is yet to arrive at the club since signing a pre-contract agreement with the Merseysiders.

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