Gotze deals blow to Liverpool by stating he wants to stay at Bayern Munich

German tabloid Bild quotes the forward - who scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final - saying that he is "looking forward to the new Bayern season", and suggesting that he will stay put.

The news deals a serious blow to Liverpool, who were reportedly close to agreeing a £37 million transfer for a player who has always struggled to nail down a starting spot at the German champions.

Gotze first came to prominence at Borussia Dortmund under current Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, leading many to conclude that it would be straightforward for a deal to go through.

And with Bayern set to welcome Carlo Ancelotti as new manager, that move seemed all the more certain: Gotze is believed to have met Ancelotti earlier this month and been told to move clubs since he wouldn't be in the Italian's plans.

Either those reports were wide of the mark or Ancelotti has had a change of heart, however, as the Bild story is fairly clear.

"I will do everything possible to compete in top shape during my first training session with Carlo Ancelotti," Gotze told the paper.

Also in the report is the news that Gotze has split with his management agency of six years', Total Sport, and agent Volker Struth.

That split does open up the possibility that the Liverpool stories were nothing more than rumours planted by the player's management to try and agitate for a move for a player with just a year left on his contract.

Gotze's words do not absolutely rule out a move, but experts at Eurosport Germany believe that the player will now stay put.

"In my opinion Gotze's words are true," says Eurosport Germany's Dirk Adam. "Bild is always well-informed on this sort of thing."