As one of the most commonly discussed moves in Germany, the future of Thorgan Hazard looks close to being decided. Among the league leaders in the first half of the season, Hazard and his team Borussia Monchengladbach were flying. However, a drop-off for both player and team has seen their aspirations for the season become at risk of falling away at the last hurdle. Hazard, though, appears to have his head elsewhere: he recently was open about an ‘agreement’ with rivals Borussia Dortmund to move there in the summer of 2019.

There was much talk that a move would happen in the January window. With both Dortmund and Hazard struggling in 2019/20, it would have been interesting to see if an early link-up could have avoided such an issue. Hazard, though, held nothing back when asked recently about the chance of moving to Dortmund, saying: “I have a contract for one more season, but I have already said before that I want to take the next step in my career.

“I want to experience something new. It’s now up to the clubs to reach an agreement. “That will take a bit of time, it’s always like that with negotiations. There are talks between Gladbach and Dortmund, yes.

“I have a personal agreement with Dortmund. It’s out of my hands. It’s up to the clubs now,” the 26-year-old Belgian international told VTM NIEUWS.

With the move very likely to happen, then, it will be interesting to see if both sides are happy with the outcome. So much build-up and anticipation can make settling in harder: for Dortmund, the need to hit the ground running in 2019/20 means they probably cannot afford a slow start: either for the club or their likely new forward signing.