Borussia Dortmund hierarchy hope to keep Marco Reus beyond the current season

Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus is one of the most courted footballers in Europe at the moment with reports claiming interest from big guns of the Premier League and the La Liga.

It was earlier reported that Real Madrid were leading the race to sign the German international midfielder, who is also courted by Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Arsenal among others.

The 25-year-old midfielder is said to have a £20m release clause, which gets active this summer, and with the midfielder failing to agree a new contract with the Bundesliga club, there could be a scramble during the summer transfer window from interested clubs to land the former Borussia Monchengladbach player's services.

However, the CEO of the Bundesliga club Hans-Joachim Watzke is hopeful of keeping his star player at the club for longer than just this season. He hopes that Reus and new signing Kevin Kanpl can remain with the club for the long-term as he is not interested in the baseless speculation regarding the player's future.

"I think we still have a chance to keep Marco Reus in his hometown. The interpretations and speculations do not interest me. I want to see both players, Reus and Kampl together next season at Borussia Dortmund," Watzke said, as quoted by French newspaper Le10 Sport.

Sporting director Michael Zorc has echoed his CEO's comments, when he confirmed that the club are hoping to work with the German midfielder in the long-term.

"You know, I am confronted almost every week for years to such rumors, and I never comment on. There is nothing new, we want to work long term with Marco Reus," the sporting director added.

It's all positive talk from the Dortmund hierarchy regarding the future of Reus. Various reports suggest that he will be leaving in the summer. Moreover, the club are going through their worst spell as they find themselves in 17<sup>th place in the league, and if things don't get better, it might prompt top players to leave the club.

But manager Jurgen Klopp is remaining positive with regards to Reus' future and believes that the player will stay a bit longer at the club.

"The boys are 100 percent here and I have a positive feeling that the player we are talking about (Reus) will stay a bit longer," Klopp added, as quoted on Sky Sports.