Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc insists that defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and midfielder Sven Bender will not be heading for the exit this summer.

Dortmund are in a transitional period following the departure of Jurgen Klopp and off the back of finishing seventh in the Bundesliga last season.

The German outfit have employed Thomas Tuchel as his successor, but the change in management has led to speculation that a couple of players could also look to follow the same path.

Papastathopoulos and Bender are two of the current squad expected to find football elsewhere with a number of clubs around Europe expressing an interest in them.

The duo struggled with injuries last term but are highly-regarded and Zorc insists they will have the chance to prove themselves to the new man in charge.

The sporting director revealed that the club are hoping to add bodies to the squad and are keen to keep as many of the current crop as possible.

Zorc said: “All speculation about Sokratis and Bender is completely irrelevant. We plan to use them both.”

Die Borussen are yet to report back for pre-season but they have been busy behind the scenes trying to stick to Zorc’s promise.

Tuchel has been handed funds and brought in goalkeeper Roman Burki and midfielder pairing Julian Weigl and Gonzalo Castro.

Zorc has made it clear that he wants the club to fight their way back into the Champions League as they look to move on quickly from an underwhelming campaign, which saw them rock bottom of the table at the winter break.