Tianjin adamant Witsel stays amid Dortmund link

BERLIN - Borussia Dortmund appears to have suffered a setback in its quest to sign midfielder Axel Witsel from Tianjin Quanjian.

Dortmund is reportedly eager to activate a 20-million-euro ($23.2m) buy-out clause in Witsel's contract, but Quanjian head coach Paulo Sousa poured cold water on a potential transfer with the Belgian World Cup star's deal to run until December 2019.

"I haven't received any information on Witsel's transfer, neither from the club nor the player himself," Sousa told Chinese broadcaster CGTN.