Dortmund do not want to sell in January but will listen to offers in the summer. The asking price is reported to be well above what English clubs had planned to pay.
The club’s sporting director said publicly that the player is "not for sale", which is the usual line at this point of the season.
Behind that public position, the message passed on to intermediaries is a simple one. Dortmund are not actively looking for a buyer, but they have set a figure, and any club that wants to open talks will have to start from it rather than work towards it.
Why Dortmund are holding firm
The club’s stance is shaped by the table as much as by the player. Dortmund are second in the Bundesliga with 19 points from nine games, and a place in next season’s Champions League is the priority. Selling their main attacking reference in the middle of the campaign would put that target at risk.
There is also the question of timing. A January sale leaves almost no room to find a replacement of the same level, because the clubs that own such players rarely sell mid-season either. Dortmund know this from experience and prefer to plan any change of striker in the summer, when the market is wider and prices are easier to compare.
Finally, there is the contract. The player is tied to the club for several more seasons, which gives Dortmund no pressure to accept a lower bid. Clubs usually only lower their demands when a contract enters its final year or two.
Where the English interest stands
Several Premier League clubs have followed the striker for some time, and scouts have been seen at Dortmund matches this season. None of them has made a formal offer so far, and reports suggest the asking price has cooled some of that interest for now.
English clubs have more financial power than most of their European rivals, but they also have to work within spending rules. A very large fee for one player limits what they can do elsewhere in the squad, and that is the calculation several of them are now making.
A high asking price can be a starting point for negotiations rather than a final figure, but in this case the message from Dortmund is that there is little room to bargain.
A familiar pattern for Dortmund
Dortmund have a long record of developing forwards and selling them at a high price once they have proved themselves in the Bundesliga and in Europe. The model has helped the club stay competitive with Bayern Munich while keeping its finances in order.
The difference this time is that the club wants to decide the timing. In past cases, buyers were sometimes able to push for an early deal by making the player’s situation public. Dortmund appear determined to avoid a repeat by setting their terms clearly and early.
What happens on the pitch
For now, the striker remains a central part of the team. Dortmund’s attack has produced 18 league goals this season, and the club needs that output to continue if it wants to stay in the top two.
The weekend did not help. Dortmund lost 4-0 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and dropped six points behind the leaders. A defeat of that size tends to raise questions about the squad, and some reports linked the result to the wider debate about which players could leave next year.
Inside the club, the view is different. The coaching staff see the Bayern game as a bad afternoon rather than a sign of deeper problems, and they want the squad to stay together at least until the summer. Keeping the striker is part of that plan.
What comes next
The January window will open in a few weeks, and the transfer rumours are likely to grow before then. Dortmund’s position is unlikely to change unless a club arrives with an offer that meets the asking price in full, which nobody expects at this stage.
In the summer, the situation may look different. If Dortmund secure Champions League football and the player wants a new challenge, the club could accept a sale at the right price. Until then, the official answer will stay the same: the striker is not for sale.
We will update this story if a formal offer is made or if the club changes its position. As always, any figure reported in the media should be treated as a rumour until it is confirmed by one of the clubs.
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