After months of rumours regarding the future of Ilkay GündoğanBorussia Dortmund have confirmed the midfielder has extended his contract with the club amid lots of transfer speculation.

The extension comes as a surprise

The German has been subject to heaps of transfer talk in the months leading up to the transfer window, and was reportedly being pursued by the likes of Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. In April, the midfielder even announced he would not be renewing his deal which would run out in 2016 but a change of heart has occurred.

The end of any pursuit came to a close today as Gündoğan extended his stay at the Signal Iduna Park until 2017, in a bid to help Dortmund reach the heights of their recent successful seasons.

BVB were keen on keeping the midfielder after a dismal 2014/15 campaign for the Bundesliga giants, in which Gündoğan featured 23 times. The 24-year old played a key role in not only helping his side finish the league campaign strongly but also into the DFB-Pokal final, which they ended up losing to VfL Wolfsburg.

A big season for club and player lies in wait

With Ilkay Gündoğan's services sealed until 2017, Dortmund can now move forward under new manager Thomas Tuchel and aim to keep their handful of stars who are rumoured to be on the move in the near future.

Despite a poor campaign, Dortmund will play in the UEFA Europa League in 2015/2016 and Gündoğan will have to play an important part if they want to be successful next season.

Club sporting director Michael Zorc said, “We are pleased that Ilkay will continue to play for Borussia Dortmund”, and believes the move will help the club reach its goals for the future.

Both the club and player can now head into the pre-season knowing the other is happy with the contract extension and they can focus on a difficult term which lies ahead. 

(quotes via bvb.de)

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Harry  Harris
Covering the Premier League, Bundesliga and NFL. Writing for VAVEL since May 2014. Chelsea FC and Atlanta sports.