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Borussia Dortmund to be patient on Ilkay Gundogan future

Ilkay Gundogan's future at Borussia Dortmund beyond this summer has yet to be decided following links with Manchester City and Juventus.

Gundogan, 25, was instrumental in Dortmund's comeback against Sunday on Hoffenheim, as he came on in the second half to help inspire a 3-1 win.

The Germany international is under contract at Dortmund until 2017 having agreed a new deal last summer after the club announced they anticipated him to not sign new terms and instead leave.

But the Gundogan has yet to decide his long-term future, and it remains unclear whether he will stay at Borussia despite the club's possible return to Champions League in the upcoming season following one year in the Europa League.

"There is nothing new to report," Gundogan told Bild on Tuesday about his contract situation.

Dortmund's sporting director, Michael Zorc, said that the club will continue to negotiate with the Gelsenkirchen-born player.

"It's clear that Ilkay is one of our key players. That's why we try and prolong his contract," Zorc said. "If necessary, we will have patience."

However, Dortmund hope that Gundogan's decision will not drag on until the end of the season with Bild reporting the club prefer that the situation is solved in March.

In mid-February, BVB rejected rumours in the Spanish media that Gundogan had already reached an agreement with Manchester City.

When Spanish outlet SPORT tweeted a link to an article claiming the Borussia midfielder had turned down Barcelona to join City, Dortmund replied on Twitter: "Really? We should know about that, shouldn't we? Truth is, we don't know anything about that."