Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus slammed his team's performance in their 3-3 draw with Paderborn on Friday.

Reus bagged an injury-time equaliser as BVB completed a comeback from 3-0 down at Signal Iduna Park:

After the match, Reus told DAZN (h/t Goal's Jamie Smith): "We can never play like that again. We don't know what happened there. We are ashamed; we must never perform like that again. That was all absolute s--t."

The German added that he and his team-mates bear responsibility for the first-half performance, not manager Lucien Favre:

"The coach puts us in a great position every time. We're responsible for putting our performance on the pitch, and we do not have to talk about the coach, but about us.

"If 80,000 people come here on a Friday night, we cannot offer that."

Bundesliga content manager Alex Chaffer enjoyed Reus' honest assessment of the match:

Streli Mamba finished from close range to give the visitors the lead, before latching onto a ball over the top to double their tally. Gerrit Holtmann made it 3-0 before half-time.

As Bundesliga writer Jonathan Harding noted, Dortmund had every reason to be unhappy with their performance early on:

Jadon Sancho pulled one back two minutes after the restart before headers from Axel Witsel and Reus completed the comeback late on:

Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe gave his take on the proceedings:

Although they'll be pleased to have salvaged a point from where they were at half-time, it's understandable Dortmund are disappointed with the performance, having been beaten 4-0 by Bayern Munich in their last match before the international break.

That their performance came against Paderborn, who had just four points from their first 11 matches, will make it even more frustrating.

Dortmund travel to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

Barca were unconvincing as they scraped past Leganes 2-1 on Saturday, but they've scored 35 goals in 13 La Liga matches this season—the German side can't afford to defend as poorly as they did on Friday.

Bayern Munich are reportedly keen to open talks with Mauricio Pochettino with regards to taking on the manager's job at the Allianz Arena following his dismissal from Tottenham Hotspur.

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic wants to discuss the job with Pochettino and "is willing to let the Argentine decide" when he would like to take over the role, according to Matt Law at the Daily Telegraph.

Bayern parted company with Niko Kovac on Nov. 3 and have appointed assistant coach Hansi Flick as caretaker manager at least until Christmas.

Pochettino is regarded as one of Europe's best coaches after an impressive stint of five-plus seasons at Tottenham. He oversaw four consecutive top-four finishes and guided the club to the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in their history:

The Argentinian employed a brand of attractive, attacking football while working on a modest budget and was also willing to trust in the club's young players. He brought stars such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Harry Winks into the first team and allowed them to thrive in the Premier League.

He departed Tottenham after a string of disappointing results that has left the club in 14th place in the top flight, but his ability to turn the club's fortunes around means his reputation has not been tarnished.

The 47-year-old has been linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs. According to Marco Ruiz at AS, Pochettino is high on the list of possible replacements for Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.

Bleacher Report's Rob Blanchette said Pochettino could also be an option to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United:

Bayern Munich are also an option after Kovac's departure. Flick has overseen wins over Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund in his first two games in charge and appears to have the club's backing for now:

Yet Bayern have stopped short of handing Flick a permanent contract, and the sudden availability of a top coach such as Pochettino is bound to tempt the German champions.

Bayern right-back Joshua Kimmich has indicated he would be happy if Pochettino were to arrive at the Allianz Arena:

A move to Bayern would offer Pochettino an excellent opportunity to land his first managerial silverware and enhance his reputation further, while he would be a popular option for both players and supporters of the German club.

It is a grey morning in Dortmund.

Autumnal rain falls from the sky, orange leaf mulch coats the slick pavements and the wheels of the vehicles thundering past on the Rheinlanddamm send spray fizzing into the air. But inside the Borussia Dortmund offices, housed in a modern, six-storey grey-brick building southwest of the city centre, the mood is as bright as the bold shade of yellow that adorns the club crest.

The previous evening, at a fervent Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund stormed back from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Inter Milan 3-2, keeping their hopes of progressing from the UEFA Champions League group phase in their own hands.

Achraf Hakimi was Dortmund's saviour, scoring the goal that halved Inter's lead and then tucking away the home side's 77th-minute winner, and his starring role in the night's events is of particular satisfaction to the club's chief scout, Markus Pilawa.

Hakimi was 16 and making his way through Real Madrid's youth setup when Pilawa first started watching him. Although some members of Dortmund's scouting department expressed reservations about the Moroccan youngster's defensive qualities, Pilawa was transfixed by his pace and courage on the ball.

The process of recruiting Hakimi was long and painstaking. Dortmund's scouts watched him for three years as he progressed through Madrid's youth teams to the reserve side and first team. There was regular contact with his agent, Alejandro Camano, who was asked to keep the club abreast of his client's plans.

In June 2018, Pilawa went to Geneva with Lucien Favre, who had been appointed Dortmund's head coach a couple of weeks previously, to watch Hakimi play for Morocco in a FIFA World Cup warm-up game against Slovakia. Sitting alongside each other in the stands at Stade de Geneve, the pair discreetly conducted a running commentary on Hakimi's performance, weighing up the pros and cons of taking a punt on the gambolling right-back. A month later, he signed for Dortmund on a two-year loan deal.

Hakimi's first season in the Ruhr valley was not without its difficult moments, but when trusting young players is part of your club's DNA, that simply comes with the territory.

"Last season, there were three or four games in a row where he made big mistakes that cost a lot of points," Pilawa tells Bleacher Report. "But I expected it. If you sign young players, they don't have full quality in every skill. You have to know that there will be some games where it will cost you points. But you make a balanced evaluation. It's risk and reward."

Dortmund have taken risks with a succession of promising young footballers over the past 15 years, and the rewards have been considerable.

As is so often the case, necessity was the mother of invention, with Dortmund's near-bankruptcy in 2005 obliging the club to clear high-earning, experienced professionals from the books and promote young players to take their place.

Jurgen Klopp's penchant for fast, high-energy football meant that he was more than happy to work with a youthful squad following his appointment as head coach in 2008, and together with Dortmund's former chief talent-spotter, Sven Mislintat, and sporting director Michael Zorc, they built a team that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 and reached the Champions League final in 2013.

Dortmund's policy of signing young players cheaply, giving them first-team exposure and then selling them on for massive profits has made the club a byword for transfer success, with Shinji Kagawa, Ilkay Gundogan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic just some of the players to have trodden that particular path in recent years.

In turn, the lure of regular playing time, Champions League football and a consistently full, vibrant stadium has turned Dortmund into one of the most attractive destinations in Europe for the game's leading young talents.

"I knew what to expect when I signed here," Dortmund winger Thorgan Hazard told Bleacher Report after the win over Inter. "It's a team that's used to playing in big matches, going far in the Champions League and competing for the Bundesliga. It was for matches like this that I decided to join."

German football journalist Uli Hesse, author of Building the Yellow Wall: The Incredible Rise and Cult Appeal of Borussia Dortmund, calls Dortmund's approach to recruiting young players "a self-fulfilling philosophy."

Zorc has described Dortmund's attempts to keep pace with Europe's big-spending super clubs as being like a Ford Mustang trying to overtake a Ferrari. But although Dortmund continue to clock impressive speeds, narrowly failing to pip Bayern Munich to the chequered flag in the Bundesliga last season, rival teams have figured out what is going on beneath their bonnet and are replicating the engineering for themselves.

As clubs around Europe look to ape the Dortmund model, the market for young footballers has become more competitive than ever. It is moving scouts such as Pilawa to look at talented 15- and 16-year-olds not as promising prospects but as players who might be first-team ready in only one or two years' time.

"There is a big, big hype for 16-year-olds," he says during an interview in an airy meeting room on the third floor of the Dortmund offices. "One-and-a-half years ago, a 16-year-old guy [Pietro Pellegri] went from Genoa to Monaco for €25 million. Sixteen and a half years old.

"The battle for young talent is incredible, and in the next few years it will increase. Signing players at the age of 16 will be a big, big fight, because you know once they reach 20, a lot of clubs will not be able to pay the fees for them.

"Players who are 20 years old like Matthijs de Ligt or Frenkie de Jong, you can't afford them at Borussia Dortmund. They cost €70 million to €100 million. Joao Felix, €125 million. [Bayer Leverkusen's Kai] Havertz will also be over €100 million. Even Bayern Munich are struggling with fees of €100 million."

Faced with the increased competition for young players, Dortmund are investing, beefing up their video scouting department and spending €20 million to renovate the club's Hohenbuschei training facility in the Brackel district east of the city centre. The need to think outside the box, meanwhile, has prompted the club to focus more resources on relatively unexplored player markets in the United States and Asia to try to find the next Pulisic or Kagawa.

There are high hopes for Gio Reyna—son of former United States internationals Claudio Reyna and Danielle Egan Reyna—who joined Dortmund from New York City in July. In an example of the careful manner with which Dortmund ease their young players into first-team action, the 17-year-old attacking midfielder has been playing with the club's under-19s while he adapts to his new surroundings (and attempts to get to grips with the language) but is due to be promoted to the senior squad for their winter training camp in Marbella.

As with all of Dortmund's young players, Reyna has been following a detailed career development plan from the moment he signed. The document outlined what opportunities he would be given to train with the first team, when he could expect to be promoted to the first-team squad, what positions he would be asked to play in and even who his rivals for a starting place would be.

Mindful of the potential value of their teenage recruits and conscious of the huge psychological pressures that exist in the modern game, Dortmund have also moved to place greater emphasis on the pastoral care that their young players receive.

Former Dortmund midfielder Otto Addo was recruited from Borussia Monchengladbach in April this year to work as a talent coach, offering technical coaching support and ad hoc advice to players from the first team down to the under-16s. Oddo will meet players for informal dinners, take them through video analysis sessions, arrange extra training exercises on certain aspects of their game and advise them on their career plans. Pilawa says he is like "a friend, father and coach."

While youth will always be central to the Dortmund project, recent transfer windows have revealed a more pragmatic edge to the club's recruitment strategy. Experience was the order of the day in the summer of 2018, with seasoned holding midfielders Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney the headline acquisitions, and that trend continued this year with the captures of 26-year-olds Hazard and Nico Schulz and, in particular, the return to Dortmund of 30-year-old centre-back Mats Hummels. The fearlessness of youth, it seems, can only take a team so far.

"Dortmund cannot be on an international level what Freiburg are on a national level," Hesse says. "They cannot be content with just nurturing young players and then selling them on for a profit. Because they want to win things. Dortmund want to win a trophy, and you probably can't do that with kids alone. That seems to be the lesson the club has learned."

The moves to bring in more experienced players reflect an acknowledgement behind the scenes at Dortmund that the squad's age profile was imbalanced, yet Pilawa says it would be wrong to see it as an abrupt change of direction. Older players like Hummels and Witsel will obviously bring know-how and a winning mentality to the first team, but they will also help to establish standards towards which their younger team-mates can aspire.

"It's very important to put in some experienced guys to lead the young players," explains Pilawa, who joined Dortmund from local rivals VfL Bochum in 2012. "We want to be champions, for sure, but our fans expect to see young players like Jadon [Sancho] and Hakimi because it's the DNA of the club. We try to combine it. Sometimes we put Mats Hummels in. Maybe next year it's Gio Reyna. We are not changing our philosophy. It's all about the structure of the team."

There would be even more youngsters clamouring for a place in the first-team squad were it not for the fact that the Dortmund academy is no longer turning out elite-level players at the rate it once did. Whereas Klopp's great Dortmund team featured home-grown stalwarts such as Mario Gotze, Nuri Sahin and Marcel Schmelzer, the production line has since slowed, meaning that most of the youthful talent in the squad has been imported from elsewhere.

Pilawa believes it is a "German problem" rather than something specific to Dortmund, expounding a theory that Germany has fallen behind countries such as England and France at youth level partly due to an absence of multi-ethnic football breeding grounds comparable to south London's cage football scene or the Parisian suburbs.

Youssoufa Moukoko, a 15-year-old Cameroonian-born striker who has been scoring goals for fun for Dortmund's youth teams, is one player on the club's books who has been earmarked to buck the trend.

"We're discussing in Germany what the problem is," Pilawa says. "Maybe we were focusing more on tactical things to develop the team and maybe not the individual player. Maybe we neglect the individual something that a Jadon Sancho or a Hakimi has. Hakimi is a team player, of course, but he's got something that you can't control. We haven't taught this certain something enough.

"In the next few years, it will be a big, big goal for us to change that and send a young Dortmund guy from the youth team to the first team."

The week of the victory over Inter ends with a one-sided 4-0 hammering at Bayern that leaves Dortmund six points off the pace in the Bundesliga title race and brings everyone at the club back down to earth. But away from prying eyes, in the club offices, in training-ground meeting rooms and on the pristine green pitches of the academy, the future is already taking shape.

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has said his "best is yet to come" despite his record-breaking form in the Bundesliga already this season. 

Lewandowski, 31, became the first player in German top-flight history to score in the first nine league games of the season earlier this year, and he's since extended that record run to 11 consecutive matches.

Speaking to Sport Bild (h/t Goal's Ben Spratt), the Bayern hitman said he feels younger than his 31 years suggest and his "best spell is just starting":

"I worked very hard for this form. Currently it is going perfectly, my body feels good.

"It's good to have that in mind, but it does not mean that I'm resting. I want to get even better.

"I know when I can do more and when I need to slow down. My passport says: 'Robert Lewandowski, 31 years old'. But that's not how I feel.

"My best spell is just starting now and hopefully will continue for some more years. The best is yet to come."

The Poland frontman has scored 23 times in 18 games across all competitions this season—as well as another four goals for his country since October:

Bayern's No. 9 has been crowned the Bundesliga's top scorer on four previous occasions—three times since joining Die Roten and once while at Borussia Dortmund (2013-14)—and a fifth gong looks almost certain.

He already sits five goals ahead of Timo Werner in this term's race for the Golden Boot, and the RB Leipzig forward recently paid tribute to his rival:

Lewandowski was previously linked with a transfer to Real Madrid, but his future looks secure in Bavaria after he signed a new four-year contract at the Allianz Arena in August.

Several high-profile managerial changes in recent seasons have caused disruption at Bayern, but it speaks volumes of the player's quality that his form has remained at an elite standard throughout.

Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe called Lewandowski the best player on the continent prior to the recent international break:

His consistent form in front of goal extends to the whole of 2019 and sees Lewandowski sitting among some world-class company, per OptaJose:

This Bundesliga campaign is only 11 games old, but Lewandowski is already more than halfway to eclipsing his best-ever goals total for a league season (30).

Bayern legend Gerd Muller holds the record for most goals scored in one Bundesliga campaign after he netted 40 times during the 1971-72 season (34 games), but Lewandowski could set a new benchmark in 2020.

RB Leipzig director Markus Krosche has praised Manchester United transfer target Erling Haaland and suggested the Bundesliga club may be contemplating a summer move for the Red Bull Salzburg ace.

Krosche discussed Haaland's performances this season in an interview with Bild (Goal's Sam France) and hinted at Leipzig's potential interest: "The boy is a very good player. Both in the league and in the Champions League, he does an exceptionally good job. Of course, we are already looking around for the summer."

France noted the Norwegian striker is a January target for the Red Devils, so competition could be fierce for the 19-year-old's signature.

Should Haaland move to Leipzig, it wouldn't come as a surprise. Both clubs are owned by Red Bull, and according to France, 17 players have moved from Austria to Germany since 2011.

Hannes Wolf, Amadou Haidara, Konrad Laimer, Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano are among the players who rose to prominence in Salzburg before developing further in Leipzig. Few of Salzburg's top prospects don't end up in Germany, with Sadio Mane the most notable example—he went to Southampton instead. 

Haaland may be the team's most prized asset yet. He is having an incredible season in front of goal:

He's talented enough to go directly from Salzburg to one of Europe's top clubs, and his father, former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Alf-Inge Haaland, told Sport Bild (h/t Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC) the Premier League is in his future. He added the timing will have to be ideal, however, as it's a difficult competition.

According to the German outlet (h/t Sport Witness' Naveen Ullal), Arsenal are also keen on the youngster:

Per the London Evening Standard's James Robson, Haaland already carries an £85 million price tag:

That price could be significantly lower for Leipzig because of the two clubs being part of the Red Bull family. The Bundesliga outfit is the company's flagship club, and Red Bull will likely be determined not to let their most notable star yet leave without playing on their biggest stage.

Haaland would fill a big need for Leipzig in case Timo Werner leaves, and the Germany international has been strongly linked with a transfer to United or Liverpool, per Bild (h/t Manchester Evening News' Marcus Banks).

AC Milan winger Hakan Calhanoglu has said it is his goal to play for Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund one day.

The German-born Turkey international joined Milan in July 2017 for €20 million.

He had previously spent his entire senior career playing in Germany for Karlsruher, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

Calhanoglu, 25, turned down a move to Bayern back in 2014, but he has said if the German champions came knocking now, he would not be able to resist, per Sport Bild (h/t Football Italia):

"I grew up in Germany, but I like talking to people in Italian. From a sporting point of view, of course it is a goal to play for Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund or another big German team.

"It was important that they [Bayern] looked at me. But at that time they had Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery who were guaranteed starters, who were also loved by the fans. It was difficult to say no. But if at some point in the future Bayern came back in for me, I wouldn't say no."

Robben and Ribery both departed Bayern at the end of last season, leaving big boots to fill on the flanks at the Allianz Arena.

Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry have stepped up impressively in 2019-20, particularly the latter:

But their back-up is currently lacking.

Alphonso Davies, 19, is one for the future but cannot be fully relied upon yet, and 30-year-old loanee Ivan Perisic is likely only a stop-gap option.

Bayern tried hard to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea almost a year ago, but the Blues winger is no longer a viable option after signing a new contract at Stamford Bridge:

It is clear, though, that Calhanoglu would be open to the switch.

His return of 11 goals and 14 assists in 79 Serie A appearances is unspectacular but decent in the context of a struggling Milan side. 

In a more prosperous environment like Bayern, Calhanoglu could flourish, and come next summer, he will only have a year remaining on his Milan contract.   

Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich believes Mauricio Pochettino is a "top coach," although he said he's unsure if there's much substance in the reports linking him with a move to the Allianz Arena.

Pochettino was sacked by Spurs on Tuesday night, bringing an end to five-and-a-half years of development with the north London outfit. Jose Mourinho was confirmed as his successor on Wednesday morning.

Given Bayern also axed their manager Niko Kovac recently, Pochettino has already been mentioned as a possible long-term candidate to take charge at Bayern.

Speaking after Germany's 6-1 win over Northern Ireland in UEFA 2020 European Championship qualifying on Tuesday, Kimmich said he thinks Pochettino is a fine coach, per Sam France of Goal.

"I do not know if he is a candidate for us," said the Bayern right-back. "What you can say is that Tottenham were fighting at the top for years, they had brilliant consistency. He's a top coach, but I don't know if he is an option for us."

Pochettino and Kovac actually came head-to-head earlier in the campaign, with the latter's side coming out on top in emphatic fashion as Bayern romped to a 7-2 win in the Champions League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

Results and performances like that indicated all wasn't well at Spurs, despite the fact the team made it to the UEFA Champions League final last season.

Tottenham sit in 14th place in the Premier League table and haven't won away from home in the top flight since January. A team that had become renowned for its aggression and intensity under Pochettino was regularly turning in meek performances.

However, on Pochettino's watch, Spurs developed from an inconsistent top-half Premier League team into regulars in the Champions League.

Rory Smith of the New York Times summed up the changes at the club:

Football writer Seb Stafford-Bloor thinks Pochettino has been let down by some of his players recently:

Naturally, talk about the now-former Spurs boss moving to Bayern has gathered pace. Hans-Dieter Flick is in temporary charge following the axing of Kovac.

Although Bayern are the dominant force in German football, they have struggled to nail down an identity since the departure of Pep Guardiola in 2016. Pochettino has shown himself to be capable of establishing a defined blueprint and improving players at his disposal.

Ed Malyon of The Athletic believes the 47-year-old will have a number of elite clubs to choose from:

Bayern are in third place in the Bundesliga, four points behind surprise leaders Borussia Monchengladbach. After some inconsistent results under Kovac, they produced their best performance of the season before the international break, when Flick led the team to a 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Nevertheless, it feels as though Bayern are in the midst of a rebuild, and there will be a temptation to approach Pochettino with a view to steering that process in the right direction.   

Robert Lewandowski has said interim Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick has "breathed a new life" into the club after the exit of Niko Kovac. 

Kovac was sacked earlier this month after Bayern were thrashed 5-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga:

Flick was installed as interim boss, and before the international break he oversaw a 2-0 victory against Olympiakos in the UEFA Champions League and a 4-0 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund in the German top flight.

It has since been announced the 54-year-old will remain in charge at least until Christmas.

Lewandowski has now hailed the impact Flick has made on the squad, per Amitai Winehouse of MailOnline:

"The bosses made the decision [on Kovac]. It just did not work. Hansi Flick did a great job in just a few days to set us up tactically very well. The players believed directly in him and his words, he has breathed a new life into us.

"He's honest and direct. The players immediately noticed that. He also works very well tactically. I don't want to say that everything's perfect now, but in a few days he has done a very good job."

Bayern sit third in the Bundesliga, four points back from surprise pace-setters Borussia Monchengladbach:

They are back in action on Saturday when they visit Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Lewandowski will be looking to maintain his staggering 2019-20 scoring record at the Merkur Spielarena.

The Polish striker has netted in all 11 of Bayern's Bundesliga games this term, as well as each of their four Champions League matches:

Fortuna should be easy pickings for Bayern. They sit 13th in the Bundesliga table after winning just two of their last 10 matches.

However, Bayern can ill afford to be complacent.

Almost exactly a year ago, Dodi Lukebakio scored a hat-trick as Fortuna held Bayern to a 3-3 draw at the Allianz Arena.  

The agent of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said the coach currently "feels good" at the club amid speculation linking him with a return to Bayern Munich. 

Bayern recently made the decision to part ways with Niko Kovac as boss, with Hans-Dieter Flick taking temporary charge of the side.

A number of big names have been linked with the post at the Allianz Arena, including Guardiola, who spent three years at the club between 2013 and 2016. Speaking about the rumours, the manager's representative Josep Maria Orobitg has said Guardiola isn't looking to move on, per Kerry Hau of Goal.

"In football, nothing is certain," he said. "I spoke with Pep last Wednesday, and everything is the same: He feels good at Manchester City and also in the city of Manchester, and he has a contract until June 30, 2021. Nobody but the press contacted me about the future Pep."

As Hau related, the likes of Erik ten Hag, Thomas Tuchel, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger have also been mentioned as possible successors to Kovac.

According to Christian Falk of Bild, despite the high-profile names being linked with the job, Flick will likely remain in charge for the time being:

Guardiola's possible return was mentioned to new Bayern president Herbert Hainer too. When asked about potential interest, he was non-committal.

"Pep Guardiola is a super manager who is under contract at Manchester City," he said, per Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC. "Let's wait and see until the managing board approaches us. Generally speaking we want the best possible coach for FC Bayern Munich."

Although the Munich giants fell at the semi-final stage in three consecutive seasons in the UEFA Champions League, they dominated the Bundesliga under Guardiola.

He also helped a number of players make strides in his time in charge, and Joshua Kimmich recently talked up the influence Guardiola had on him previously:

Sky Sports Statto recently reflected on the incredible record the former Barcelona midfielder has:

City will not want to see Guardiola leave any time soon, as he has been crucial to the most successful spell in the team's history.

Last season, the Manchester outfit made history when they won a domestic treble. In the 2017-18 campaign, they also won the Premier League with a record total of 100 points.

Guardiola will still feel as though he has plenty to accomplish at City, most notably in Europe. As yet, he's been unable to steer the team past the quarter-finals in the UEFA Champions League.

The agent for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria has said the player will not move on in the January transfer window despite speculation linking him with some of European football's biggest clubs.

The Switzerland international has been a key player for the German side this season, making 11 appearances and helping the team take a surprise lead at the top of the Bundesliga table. 

Zakaria's performances have led to some talk about a transfer, although his representative Mathieu Beda has played down suggestions of a midseason exit, per Sport Bild (h/t Rich Jones of the Daily Mirror).

"Denis will not leave Borussia in the winter, a change is 100 per cent excluded," said Beda of the 22-year-old.

Per Jones, Premier League giants Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal have all been linked with the midfielder.

United are interested in signing the player as a replacement for Ander Herrera, who left Old Trafford to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer. Arsenal are reported to be ready to include Granit Xhaka, a former Monchengladbach player, as part of a deal to bring Zakaria to north London.

Although Liverpool have also been mentioned as possible suitors, James Pearce of The Athletic dismissed any notion that the European champions would be making a move:

Monchengladbach have surged into a four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table. Marco Rose has built an exciting side that is packed full of dynamic young players.

Zakaria epitomises what the side is all about in many respects, as he's a combative and enforcing presence at the hub of the team.

The Swiss provides an excellent shield in front of the defence. Zakaria is also tidy in possession, and he can steam forward with the ball, take on opposition players and fire shots at goal too; he's already chipped in with two goals this term.

Bundesliga's Alex Chaffer thinks the midfielder is the most underrated of Monchengladbach's players:

Zakaria recently declined the chance to play down the team's title hopes after their brilliant start:

While a move away from the German club midseason appears to be off the cards for Zakaria, interest will no doubt continue throughout the campaign if he keeps performing.

Given the position they're in, Borussia would surely be at loath to lose him or any of their star players in January given they appear to have an opportunity to accomplish something special in the months to come.