I guess this makes the past 6 pages rather superfluous....
Dortmund not planning on losing Tottenham target Bender, says Tuchel
2 Aug 2015 09:43:24
The 26-year-old Germany international is being heavily linked with a move to White Hart Lane but his boss at BVB has no desire to lose one of his leaders in the dressing room
Borussia Dortmund head coach
Thomas Tuchel says
Sven Bender is a key part of his plans for the new season - even though the midfielder is reportedly being targeted by
Tottenham.
Bender still has another two years to run on his contract with BVB but speculation is rife that Spurs are ready to make a move for the Germany international.
However, Tuchel insists that the club have little interest in selling a player who is considered a vital member of the playing squad at Signal Iduna Park.
"Sven Bender is a leader," the new BVB boss told reporters. "He is a constant in the squad.
"It's a pleasure to work with him, because he is a total team player. So we are very happy with him and we are planning with him."
Tuchel was speaking after watching Dortmund record a 2-0 win over Real Betis, with Adrian Ramos and Oliver Kirch getting the goals in a comfortable friendly win in Wuppertal.
However, while the former Mainz boss acknowledged that many of the players on show are not yet fully fit, he was not pleased by the performance.
"It wasn't good enough from our side," Tuchel added. "The result is okay and we won. The players were able to gain more game time, especially those who didn't get enough practice.
"But the way we played was very slow. So there isn't much positive to say, we just know how not to do it."
Dortmund next host Wolfsberger in the second leg of their Europa League third qualifying round clash on Thursday, having triumphed 1-0 in Austria last week.