Man United had contract for Dortmund midfielder

Mario Gotze's agent Dirk Hebel claims he has had contact with Manchester United and Juventus over the highly-rated Borussia Dortmund midfielder.



The 19-year-old is one of the hottest young properties in Europe having shone for Dortmund since breaking into the first team in 2009.



Gotze, already capped 12 times for Germany, is expected to play an integral role in his country's Euro 2012 campaign this summer.



His agent, Dirk Hebel, claims several of Europe's top clubs are chasing the attacking midfielder, who has not featured for Dortmund since December 11th due to a groin injury.



Hebel named United and Juve as two suitors who have been in touch over Gotze but insists the Bundesliga club will not let him leave for less than €40million (£33m).



The agent told calciomercato.com: "I think in Europe all the top clubs are interested in Mario.



"I can confirm that I have had contact with Juventus and Manchester United, but not only them.



"I don't know if he'll go away after this season, you should ask Borussia. But I think that they will not let him leave for less than 40million euros.



"He still is very happy at Dortmund, though now he is injured."

Round up Top stories in UK

Newspaper round-up

Roberto Mancini slammed the door on Carlos Tevez returning to the Man City team. THE SUN



Sir Alex Ferguson believes Ryan Giggs could one day succeed him as Manchester United manager.

DAILY MAIL



Man City manager Roberto Mancini has ordered striker Mario Balotelli to behave himself for the rest of the season. THE SUN



Patrice Evra has been left out of Man Utd's Europa League trip to Amsterdam as a result of an 'emotional week' following the handshake row with Luis Suarez. DAILY MAIL



Robinho and Kevin-Prince Boateng sent Arsenal crashing to their worst-ever European defeat in the San Siro. THE SUN



Arsenal were outpaced, out-thought and outfought as Arsene Wenger's woeful failure to invest properly last summer finally caught up with them. DAILY TELEGRAPH



Chelsea are once again showing interest in 25-year-old CSKA Moscow goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

 DAILY MAIL



Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have offered Guus Hiddink an extraordinary £8.3m-a-year contract to become their new coach and want a decision this week. DAILY TELEGRAPH



Man City boss Roberto Mancini last night hit back at Carlos Tevez by snapping: "I treated you too well." DAILY STAR



Rangers owner Craig Whyte will not face criminal charges over the £9 million in tax and VAT that is owed. TELEGRAPH



Morocco defender Mehdi Benatia, 24, has issued a 'come and get me' call to Manchester United. The Udinese centre-back is believed to be being monitored by Sir Alex Ferguson. THE SUN



Thierry Hazard, the father of Lille's Eden Hazard, has given Tottenham encouragement in their bid to sign the playmaker. DAILY MAIL



Steve Bruce faces stiff competition for the Wolves manager's job from Alan Curbishley and Neil Warnock. GUARDIAN

Sturridge considering Chelsea future

Daniel Sturridge is considering his future at Chelsea as their season lurches deeper into disarray.



The striker, 22, has just over a year left on his contract and is concerned about the club's decline on and off the pitch.



A pal said: "Daniel will be distraught if Chelsea finish outside the top four — he's desperate to prove himself at the highest level and that means he wants Champions League football, not Europa League."



Chelsea's defeat at Everton on Saturday saw the Londoners slip to fifth in the Premier League after a dismal run of just 12 points out of a possible 30.



It sparked a training ground showdown between manager Andre Villas-Boas and his players on Sunday, all in front of owner Roman Abramovich.



Sturridge is one of the unhappy ones. He is desperate to play as centre forward but AVB insists he is not ready and continues to persist with £50million flop Fernando Torres.



Yet Sturridge has outscored the Spaniard 10 goals to four this season despite being played wide right most of the time.