Borussia Dortmund’s German Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan Praises Liverpool

German international midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has heaped praises on Liverpool while at the same time disclosing some of his feelings about plans for his future.

The Borussia Dortmund man was expected to leave the club last summer with Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all interested before he performed a dramatic u-turn and signed a year-long contract extension.

Jurgen Klopp signed Gundogan for Dortmund in 2011. (Picture: Getty)

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was the man who brought Gundogan to Dortmund in a €4million deal from FC Nurnberg in 2011, going on to become an integral part of the team that won the Bundesliga and finished runners-up in the Champions League final – a game in which he himself scored in.

Enjoying a return to form in Dortmund under new boss Thomas Tuchel, Gudogan was again quizzed about his future as he enters the final 18-months of his current contract.

‘There are no new developments as of yet,’ Gundogan told German outlet Sport Bild.

Gundogan praised Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp. (Picture: Getty)

‘I know that I will have to deal with the matter of my future at some point and that people expect me to make a decision. I want to deal with this situation in a respectful way and will sit down with the Dortmund management first and make a decision. But I do not know when that moment will be yet.

‘I believe everybody here at Dortmund wants to be back in the Champions League next season and anything else would be a major disappointment.

‘But that does not mean that I will definitely leave if we don’t qualify. I’m not that kind of person. I would already have left last summer had that been one of the criteria for me.’

Inevitably the 25-year-old was drawn into conversation about Liverpool with links to a move to Liverpool stronger than ever after Klopp was appointed Brendan Rodgers’ successor and, not wanting to reveal too much, Gundogan praised the Reds in passing:

‘They have a good team, a great coach,’ the midfielder said before moving on.