Mats Hummels is in the frame to leave for Manchester United, Ilkay Gundogan has yet to sign a contract extension and can leave in 2016 and even the much-vaunted re-signing of Marco Reus might have simply been a stalling tactic to wait for a move to Barcelona next summer. On top of all that, Borussia Dortmund, the club which charmed the world two years ago on their rampaging run to the Champions League final, have battled relegation all season and were comprehensively beaten by Juventus in the Champions League last week. You might be forgiven for thinking that here was a club on the slide. But what about the notion of Dortmund in Europe next season? It would seem a non-starter. Borussia Dortmund are starting to look up again following a nightmare start to the season . Part of Dortmund's remarkable 10,000-strong support in Hannover for their Bundesliga match last weekend . Defender Mats Hummels has been strongly linked with a summer move to Manchester United . For most of the world, their last sight of Dortmund's plight in the Bundesliga were those infamous photos of captain Hummels and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller climbing the surround fencing to reason with angry fans from the 'Yellow Wall' after the home defeat by Augsburg last month left the team bottom. Yet the 3-2 win at Hannover at the weekend was a sixth victory in a run of eight games undefeated and sparked some crazy talk. 'Now we need to focus our eyes in the direction of the Europa League,' said double goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Club chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke was a little more cautious. 'It's more important to put some distance between us and the relegation battle first,' he said. While manager Jurgen Klopp and Hummels struck some sensible middle ground. 'We're no longer in the middle of a relegation battle,' said Klopp. 'Let's get to the point whereby we mathematically can't be relegated and then let's see how many games we have.' Hummels, looking ahead to what would normally be a title-deciding clash with Bayern, said: 'We want to beat Bayern. At the moment we're in no-man's land but we could still slip back. If we beat Bayern, then we'll see.' Star man Marco Reus has signed a contract extension but could still move to Barcelona in 2016 . Ilkay Gundogan (right) has yet to commit to a new Dortmund contract and could leave in the summer . After an upturn in form, Dortmund find themselves just five points off a Europa League place . Manager Jurgen Klopp (second right) with Sebastian Kehl and Jakub Blaszczykowski after Saturday's win . Whether Europe is realistic or not - they are five points off the Europa League places with eight games to play - Dortmund are in a much better place than a couple of months ago. No-one truly believed they could go down, yet at times they seemed intent on testing the proposition to the full. But Reus signing a new four-year contract was an enormous boost, all the more so as it contained no release clause. It may well be that Reus joins Barcelona in the summer of 2016, the Catalan club where his friend Marc-Andre ter Stegen already plays understood to be his preferred destination. Even so, Reus should be at the Westfalenstadion next season. Hummels may not be. Louis van Gaal attempted to bring him back to Bayern Munich when coach there; he will undoubtedly try to do the same again this summer, though he will have to meet the £35m asking price. Interestingly, sources at Dortmund are already putting it about that £35m would make up for the shortfall of missing out in the Champions League, which sounds like a pre-sale process of softening up the fans. The lowest point in Dortmund's season came when players like Hummels had to front up to the fans . But an upturn in fortunes has lifted them out of relegation danger - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) and Marco Reus here wear masks to celebrate a goal in the 3-0 defeat of rivals Schalke . The Dortmund player salute their travelling support after last weekend's 3-2 win at Hannover . The key question remains about the man who has come to personify Dortmund, Klopp. Like Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, Klopp's personality, tactics and energy seem to embody every area of the club. Understandably Klopp is always considered when top jobs come up. He was on the shortlist to replace Roberto Mancini at Manchester City but did not impress in interview - the passion that drives his teams sits uncomfortably with the increasingly corporate world of football executives. It looks as though those pushing for him as a natural replacement for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal overplayed their hand somewhat. The intensity of the rivalry with Bayern Munich means he is highly unlikely to end up there when Pep Guardiola ends his time in 2016. Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang poses for a photo with Dortmund fans after Saturday's win . Former Manchester United man Shinji Kagawa celebrates with Reus after scoring at Hannover . And there is a feeling that many teams are now adept at dealing with the frenzied counter-attacking style and that he needs to add nuance to the tactics that so recently shocked Europe's best sides. For now it looks as if Klopp and Dortmund's fates are bound together. At times, the rollercoaster season has seemed a projection on the ups and downs of Klopp's own volatile personality. Yet it's not so long ago he was a genuine wunderkind of European football. If he can emerge refreshed and re-energised from this season's chaos, there seems no reason why Dortmund shouldn't rise again in Europe. The next few weeks should tell us much. If Dortmund do make the Europa League, then you might conclude that the rebuilding process is already underway.
Borussia Dortmund have turned around their season after disastrous start . The Bundesliga giants are five points off a Europa League place . Jurgen Klopp's team looked doomed to relegation earlier in the campaign . Key men like Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Marco Reus could leave . Germany international Hummels will cost Manchester United £35m . Reus signed new contract but could still head to Barcelona next year .