Ilkay Gundogan is being linked with a sensational return to Manchester City, following reports his future at Barcelona is in doubt.
It was suggested last week that Barcelona were looking to offload Gundogan, with the player having wanted to stay and see out his contract.
The player did not feature in Barca’s first game of the season against Valencia at the weekend, with manager Hansi Flick claiming his omission was due to injury.
But speculation has been rife about Gundogan in recent days, with the player now open to leaving following the club’s stance. Fabrizio Romano has reported that Gundogan can indeed leave and options are currently being explored.
And Manchester City have actually been linked with a sensational move for their former captain. Apparently, contact has even been made already.
Here are a few reasons why it is certainly something Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain should be considering.
Man City need midfield cover
The season has now started and arguably, City are a little light in terms of midfield options.
Rodri has the number six position nailed down, but this season the Spaniard may need rotating a little more to avoid injury and burnout.
Kevin De Bruyne will also need rotating a bit more this term now that he is 33 and has had injury problems in recent times. Also, Julian Alvarez played a lot last season in the attacking midfield positions, and he was recently sold. As City fans well know, Gundogan was a goalscoring midfielder, and he could help replace Alvarez’s output a little bit.
Gundogan can play as a number six or a number eight (box-to-box). He can even play as a number 10, and this kind of versatility would just be so handy.
He knows Pep, the players and the system
As a former City player, Gundogan already knows the score at City.
Nothing has really changed since he left a year ago, and he would be able to come in and essentially just pick back up where he left off.
If he came back he would probably not feature as much as he did in his final season. But if he would be happy to accept a more rotational role then this is surely a no-brainer for City.
He absolutely flourished under Pep at the Etihad and there has been nothing to suggest he’s on the decline.
Gundogan return would lift the players and the fans
A lot of City fans never wanted Gundogan to leave in the first place and many were very sad he departed when he did. Seemingly he would have stayed too had the contract offer from City been right for him.
So if he sealed a return to the club, then this would leave a lot of fans feeling absolutely euphoric – and many of the players would love it as well.
Gundogan is a City legend who had many incredible moments in the sky blue shirt.
The former Borussia Dortmund man would be welcomed back by all with open arms, and his presence in that dressing room again would be a major positive, given the love and respect everyone had for him.
Convenience
Gundogan appears to be available, amid reports coming out of Spain, and his stint at Barca appears to be coming to a dramatic end after just one year.
There are only two weeks remaining in the transfer window and City do not have much time to land anyone.
Gundogan is there not only as a proven player in the Premier League, but a proven player in the City system under Guardiola.
There have been links to the links of Ebere Eze and Bruno Guimaraes this summer but those players have huge price tags and City seemingly aren’t ready to pay up in this window, otherwise they may have done so by now.
Gundogan re-signing for City means plans to sign players like that can be shelved until next summer, rather than the club potentially paying over the odds now.
