EURO BITES: Bundeliga - Is Aubameyang leaving Dortmund? Großkreutz to return to Germany? Schaaf begins work with Hannover

Chris Leischwitz reports on the latest news from the Bundesliga with several names on the move in the January transfer window.

DORTMUND TRY TO FEND OFF OFFERS FOR BIG NAMES

Will Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang become the season’s Bundesliga topscorer? The only thing that can keep the Borussia Dortmund striker from reaching the goal is reported offers from England. The Sun reports that Arsenal is willing to pay £42 million for the Gabonese, who has a contract with the black-and-yellow until 2020. Dortmund want to keep Aubameyang, and is also busy fending off further offers for other players. Ilkay Gündogan, who has returned to his old form after being forced out with a year-long back injury, is said to be courted by Juventus.

GUARDIOLA’S POPULARITY UNEASY

Pep Guardiola was already on vacation when Bayern Munich announced that their manager will leave the club next summer. This Monday sees Bayern’s first training session after two weeks, however, rumours spread that the relationship between the manager and his backroom team is not the best. Bild reports that Guardiola insisted Franck Ribéry should get some playing time before the winter break. Doctors had cautioned him not to put Ribéry in too early after his ankle injury and the Frenchman is now injured again. At the same time, Douglas Costa, who had successfully replaced Ribéry, revealed that Guardiola assured him he would be first choice before his transfer to Munich. With Ribéry a crowd favorite, Guardiola is said to never have reached the fans hearts, despite Bayern’s Bundesliga dominance.

GROßKREUTZ IS BACK, BUT NOT FOR HIS FAVOURITE TEAM

Former German national Kevin Großkreutz is about to celebrate a Bundesliga comeback. The 27-year-old arrived in Stuttgart for the obligatory medical examinations with VfB ahead of a return to Germany. Großkreutz was forced to leave his dearly beloved team of Dortmund last summer to join Galatasaray, after Borrusia’s new manager Thomas Tuchel indicated he would not be considered for the starting eleven. But due to violatons of transfer regulations, he did not play a single game in Turkey. Großkreutz will face his favourite team on February 9, when Stuttgart host Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the national cup.

GERMANY`S GOT TALENT I

With Premier League clubs increasingly signing well-established players from Germany last summer, the danger of losing its best young talents dominated discussions ahead of the upcoming winter transfer period. “The English have so much money, they don’t know what to do with it”, Schalke’s general manager Horst Heldt stated months ago. Now, Schalke’s 19-year-old Leroy Sané is allegedly confronted with a £42 million offer from Manchester City – the same amount that Arsenal is allegedly willing to pay for Bundesliga´s most successful striker Aubameyang. Rumour has it that City already had an eye on the fast and spectacular Sane during the U19 Youth League matchups with Schalke.

GERMANY`S GOT TALENT II

Sinan Kurt, 19, is one of the German talents that has permanently faced highest expectations - ever since Bayern Munich signed him from Mönchengladbach in 2014. However, he became irrelevant under manager Pep Guardiola last summer and was forced to play for Munich’s U23 team, where he produced some poor performances. Hertha BSC Berlin is now interested in loaning Kurt from Bayern including an option to sign him with final discussions taking place this Monday. According to Munich rumours, Kurt will not get a second chance in Munich and he is becoming another example of players who are not even close to being a Bayern Munich star – and yet still highly coveted by other clubs.

SCHAAF BACK IN NORTHERN GERMANY

Manager Thomas Schaaf has had two very different experiences in his managing career so far - 14 years with Werder Bremen (1999-2013) and resigning from his job at Eintracht Frankfurt last May after only 11 months in charge. Schaaf, 54, will start his third job this Monday with Hannover 96, as he bids to save the club from relegation. Along with the new manager come three new players, and the hope for some more attractive football. Hannover has scored only 18 goals in 17 games so far.