Transfer talk: Borussia Dortmund beat Liverpool to £23.6m signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan

The attacking midfielder will move to the Bundesliga rather than the Premier League

Liverpool have been thwarted in their attempts to sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan after the midfielder opted to join Borussia Dortmund instead.

The Champions League runners-up have secured the services of the Armenian international after agreeing a €27.5m (£23.6m) fee with Shakhtar Donetsk.

The transfer represents a record fee for the Bundesliga side and will go some way to filling the void left by Mario Goetze who left for Bayern Munich.

"It wasn't an easy transfer but we absolutely wanted to have Henrikh," Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said.

Mkhitaryan has signed a four-year deal and will wear the No. 10 shirt previously worn by Goetze.

"We are delighted that we got a fantastic new signing for the attacking midfield role," Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said.

Mkhitaryan, who scored 25 goals and helped set up 10 more in 29 Ukrainian top-division matches last season, has played in the Champions League, and made 37 appearances for Armenia.

Liverpool had been strongly linked with a move for Mkhitaryan but will now have to turn their attention elsewhere.