Borussia Dortmund rule out major overhaul and dismiss Mario Gotze talk

Borussia Dortmund have said they have no plans for a major overhaul of their squad this summer and ruled out a return for Mario Gotze as "totally unrealistic." There has been widespread speculation that a number of key Dortmund stars this summer could follow coach Jurgen Klopp in leaving the Westfalenstadion this summer, but Borussia CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Der Westen that incoming boss Thomas Tuchel would not be overseeing major changes.

"What's an overhaul? When we sign three, four players? We do that every year," he said. "No, an overhaul is when we replace half of our squad, but that won't happen. We don't need to aim at a general squad overhaul." There has been uncertainty about a number of Klopp's key players over recent seasons. Ilkay Gundogan has asked to leave this summer -- although he said he would be willing to see out his contract until 2016 -- and has been most heavily linked with Manchester United, although Bayern Munich and Juventus also hold an interest. Mats Hummels has also been linked with Manchester United and has said he is considering his future, although Dortmund have said they want to extend the centre-back's contract. There is also uncertainty about Neven Subotic, who has expressed a desire to play in the Premier League, and former Torino forward Ciro Immobile, who has struggled to replicate his Serie A form in the Bundesliga. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, meanwhile, was linked with Juventus but now looks set to stay. Watzke added: "We will have a good team, and it is one that will not be past its prime given the age structure -- rather the opposite. There will be no significant drop at Borussia Dortmund regarding our sporting ambitions." Watzke also said there was no prospect that Bayern Munich midfielder Gotze could return to the club he left in 2013. The Germany international had controversially moved to the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2013 when Bayern paid his €37 million release clause, but he has dropped down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola in recent weeks and faced criticism for his performances. However, Watzke -- who had previously played down talk of a swap deal involving Gundogan -- said Dortmund could not afford Gotze's salary. "That's totally unrealistic," he said. "Just look at Bayern's wage structure and at Dortmund's -- one look -- and you'll have the answer." Bayern's honorary president, Franz Beckenbauer, had been Gotze's most prominent critic, saying in his role as a Sky pundit that the 22-year-old needed to "grow up," but Watzke defended the player. "I rate Franz Beckenbauer highly, but what he said there is not true," he said. "I don't want to say more. It's difficult to discuss it objectively, because it was not objective. Mario is an asset for every club in the world." Gotze won back-to-back titles at BVB in 2011 and 2012 and helped the club to the 2013 Champions League final against Bayern, although he was injured for Dortmund's 2-1 defeat at Wembley.