Ilkay Gundogan was a dominant force for Borussia Dortmund in seasons past, but after several tough injury spells, he made the switch to Manchester City this summer.
Past
Before agreeing to join Manchester City this past summer, Ilkay Gundogan first lit up the German Bundesliga with a knack for creating chances. Starting his career at German second division side VfL Bochum, he played only two competitive matches before moving to then top-tier side FC Numberg. Gundogan played for Numberg for two seasons before being scooped up by Borussia Dortmund £3.5 million at the end of 2011.
At Dortmund, under former manager Jurgen Klopp, Gundogan began to impress right away. In the Champions League final match against Bayern Munich, he took a high-pressure penalty to keep his team in the match, and scored it with confidence. While Dortmund went on to to lose 2-1, Gundogan was now widely known as an elite player who could make a serious impact in big games.
While clearly possessing the talent of an elite midfielder, Gundogan has suffered through a bevy of injuries during his career, a seemingly massive amount for a player of only 25. Most of the injuries were small, unfortunate mishaps. However, a serious spine injury in August of 2013 kept the player sidelined for the entire season – with nearly 13 months elapsing before he was fit to return to action.
After that horrific injury, Gundo went on to remain mostly healthy and excel for Dortmund over the next two years. His performance in that most recent season is undoubtedly what led City to pull the trigger on signing the player.