Aubameyang taken off the market

German side Borussia Dortmund will not sell prolific striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the 28-year-old failed to make a decision within a deadline provided by the club, the team's sporting director Michael Zorc has said.

British and German media reports on Sunday said that Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke had given Aubameyang, who scored 31 league goals in 32 games last season to finish as the Bundesliga's top-scorer, a deadline to decide on his future, which has now expired.

"We consider the transfer window closed. The timing [of it all] was decisive in the end," Zorc told German magazine Kicker on Tuesday.

The Gabon international was being pursued by a Chinese club before the deal fell through earlier and had most recently been linked to both AC Milan and Chelsea.