Former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Stefan Effenberg has admitted that the only way his old side can compete at the top of the Bundesliga is by holding on to key players.

Gladbach have lost Dante and Marco Reus in recent seasons to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively, and Effenberg said that they must stop becoming a selling club.

"I'd really like that, but the problem in the past has been keeping hold of the top players like Dante, Marco Reus and now Marc-Andre ter Stegen when the big names come knocking and throw money about," he told Bundesliga.com.

"That can weaken Gladbach, even if they're well compensated like when Reus went. It's probably not enough to take them to the very top, but I already see them behind established teams like Bayern, Dortmund, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg in the pecking order."

Ter Stegen is expected to join Barcelona in the summer.