Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has insisted that Premier League target Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be allowed to leave the German club this summer.
The 27-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to England over the last couple of weeks, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea all said to be in the running for the Armenia international.
Mkhitaryan's contract will expire next summer, but Watzke has claimed that Dortmund will not allow the attacker to depart in this summer's transfer window.
"We have been negotiating a new deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan for four months. We now know he won't sign an extension. There was never a promise that he can leave us prematurely," Watzke told ESPN.
"We have intensely discussed the question of an early transfer in all club bodies and came to the conclusion that Mkhitaryan will stay in Dortmund next season."
Bundesliga runners-up Dortmund have already lost Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan to Bayern Munich and Manchester City respectively this summer.
Matt Law
