Klopp not afraid of losing Lewandowski to Manchester United

Manchester United's hopes of signing Robert Lewandowski in the January transfer window have been halted, with Borussia Dortmund confirming the striker will remain in the Bundesliga.

Lewandowski, 24, has been linked with a move to the Premier League and United would be favourites for his signature after reportedly expressing interest recently.

Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp insists the Poland international has not yet requested an exit from Germany, although a deal next summer could still be an option.

"I'm not afraid he will leave," Klopp said. "Manchester United are one of many teams showing interest in him. But the fact remains the contract is with us.

"The time when big, rich English clubs tried to take our players from Germany, thank God, is over. In the second half of the season he'll be with us."

Klopp believes the Bundesliga is now more appealing than the Premier League, despite United luring Shinji Kagawa away from Dortmund in the summer.

The German champions host Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday night and, despite having guaranteed their place in the knockout stages, Klopp will send out a strong line-up to secure top spot in Group D.

"This is a Champions League game. When a team is through there is sometimes a temptation to rest players but that is not for us," he said. "We are going to play with a good team. It will be a high-tempo game and we have got to try to put a fresh team on the pitch, but obviously there will be changes.

"The match at City [on matchday 2] was surely one of the best ever for a Borussia Dortmund team. We were extremely quick, ran extremely well and were tactically very strong.

"Normally you win such a game, but that was not the case then. As it turned out, it didn't do us much harm. I can't really say how [Tuesday's] game will develop because I have no idea how the [City] team will line up.

"The squad has huge quality, no matter who is playing, but I also know that the big Manchester derby is coming up this weekend. We will see where their priorities lie. You can't always play like we did in Manchester, but, of course, we should try."

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Source: ESPN