Germany's general manager Oliver Bierhoff believes Marco Reus may well ignore the advances of Bayern Munich and Manchester City by staying with Borussia Dortmund next season.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in August it is "common knowledge" that Reus has a clause in his contract which would allow him to leave BVB in the summer for a predetermined fee of around 25 million euros.
That would be 10 million euros less than the fee Bayern paid to lure Mario Gotze to them in similar circumstances last summer, and the Bundesliga champions have made no secret of their desire to land a third blow on Dortmund in as many years after taking Robert Lewandowski on a free transfer this summer.
Bierhoff is not so convinced that Reus will actually leave Dortmund, but suggests a move abroad may be more tempting for the Nationalmannschaft attacker if he were to turn his back on the Westphalian club.
"I can still see [Reus] playing for Dortmund," Bierhoff told Sky television. "Dortmund is a guarantee for him. I know that Marco also has his heart in Dortmund. He knows what he's got there and he treasures it too.
"Marco is the kind of person who needs to be in settled surroundings, but of course you do also get envious of your rivals when they are lifting the trophies."
A move to another top European club may therefore be hard for Reus to ignore, particularly with Dortmund looking unlikely to win the title this season after a 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach -- courtesy of an extraordinary Christoph Kramer own-goal -- moved them out of the relegation zone.
"When a club like Real Madrid or Barcelona want to make you their big summer signing, then you do ask yourself if you will ever get this chance again," Bierhoff added. "I just hope this issue doesn't weigh Marco down as he's being confronted with it almost on a daily basis."