City exits: Ranking the possible departures
By James Fudge
Ilkay Gundogan enters the final year of his contract next season with the likelihood that the club won’t extend despite his title-winning performance against Aston Villa. Rumours regarding a move to Real Madrid were at fever pitch last month as he was seen boarding a private jet suspected to the Spanish capital, only for him to confirm it was to marry his fiancée.
The German midfielder will attract Champions League sides with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and a return to Borussia Dortmund rumoured to be all monitoring his situation and likely to make an offer should he express a desire to leave the Etihad. Bild Sport reports are also claiming that Juventus and Barcelona are key interests with a move to the Catalan club reportedly a’ dream’ for the Turkish-born midfielder.
He plans to sit down with the club following the conclusion of the summer and ‘see what comes of it’.
Despite this, his recent comments to Kicker give a good indication he wants to stay: “In terms of football, there’s certainly still no better address than Manchester City under Pep Guardiola and I think that will hardly change in the next few years”
Since joining from Borussia Dortmund, Gundogan has scored 49 goals and provided 33 assists in 253 appearances across all competitions, becoming the most decorated German to grace the English game, winning four Premier League titles and Carabao Cups and an FA Cup.
Rating: The departure will all depend on the German’s talks with City in the coming month or so with Guardiola likely to insist on having Gundogan for next season.
Although behind Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne for the majority of the season, Gundogan will provide an edge in tightly contested games and fixtures where a more cutting edge is required in the box. Both parties are probably wishing for a run down of his contract especially as more options will arise should he become available for a free.
Likely destination come September: Manchester City