Everton and West Ham United will not face competition from Ligue 1 side Nice for Mario Gotze if they choose to make a move for the German and it is still up in the air over where the attacking midfielder will go.
The 27-year-old has failed to make an impact at Borussia Dortmund since returning to the club from Bayern Munich in 2016 and is set to leave when his contract expires this summer.
Gotze is set to have options and Everton and West Ham have both been linked with holding an interest in signing him on a free transfer.
It had been mooted that Nice will also be in the mix amid claims that they want to take Gotze to Ligue 1, however the club's sporting director has now denied any interest.
"I read that too [about us wanting Gozte] and I don't know where it comes from", Nice sporting director Julien Fornier told German broadcaster Sport1.
"Mario Gotze is certainly an interesting player.
"However, we were never in contact with him or his advisors. We also never had the ambition to bring him to us. "
It is claimed that there is no clarity over where Gotze will move to this summer, with his future up in the air, but the tendency is towards a move away from Germany.
He is due to turn 28 years old in June and has won 63 caps for Germany so far.
