Mario Gotze has been urged to reject a move to Liverpool by Bayern Munich team mate Robert Lewandowski.
Gotze appears intent on a reunion with former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp at Anfield this summer as the Reds plot a £20 million swoop for the playmaker.
The 23-year-old’s anticipated move to Merseyside comes after a combination of injury and falling out of favour under Bayern boss Pep Guardiola restricted his Bundesliga outings this season.
But Lewandowski, who also played alongside Gotze at Dortmund, believes the Germany international should prove himself at the Allianz Arena instead of moving onto pastures new.
He said: “Mario proved during the international break that he is always capable of showing what he can do and that he is a great player.
“He should not be reading what people say about him in the papers. He does not need all the extra pressure.
“Mario knows how to deal with it, though. He is used to it. It is silly that there is so much talk about him.
“He is a Bayern player and he has plenty of games left until the end of the season to prove that he is good enough for Bayern.
“He has plenty of time to prove his critics wrong. He should stay at Bayern for a long time because he is a great player.”