Ilkay Gundogan: Man City "will be looking to move on” Galatasaray-linked midfielder as “obvious” transfer claim is made

Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany ‘cannot see any scenario’ where Ilkay Gundogan does not move on from the Etihad Stadium this summer, even though the midfielder wants to stay at the club.

The 34-year-old is under contract until the end of the 2025-26 campaign after an automatic one-year extension was recently triggered, but speculation over his future on the blue side of Manchester is still rife.

Turkish giants Galatasaray are keen to sign Gundogan and recent reports claim that they have already reached a contractual agreement with the Germany international, who was born in Gelsenkirchen but grew up with Turkish parents in a household full of Galatasaray supporters.

Man City have already parted ways with Kevin De Bruyne this summer, but Pep Guardiola would like to trim his squad further following the arrival of four new players, including midfielder Tijjani Reijnders who has been likened to Gundogan.

Gundogan started and scored a brace in Man City’s thumping 6-0 group-stage win over Al-Ain in the FIFA Club World Cup on Monday and expressed his desire to stay at the club post-match, insisting that he still has a lot to offer at the highest level.

However, with Man City boasting plenty of midfield options including Reijnders, Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Nico Gonzalez and Matheus Nunes, McInerney feels that now is the “right time” for Gundogan to leave.

Gundogan is the “obvious one” for Man City to move on

“Ultimately there is a squad overload,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “Of the attackers who want to play centrally, you've got [Rayan] Cherki and [Phil] Foden who will want to play in that 10 role, Bernardo Silva’s going to play centrally a lot more because Guardiola’s got more wingers.

“Kovacic will return (from injury), then you've got Reijnders, Rodri, Gundogan, Nico Gonzalez, Nico O'Reilly will want to play in midfield a bit as well, potentially in the cup games. That's even without [James] McAtee who will probably be moved on and Jack Grealish should be moved on as well.

“I think we have to be realistic as City fans, and I think City have to be realistic as well. Gundogan’s been fantastic, I've got no doubt whatsoever that he'll be good if he plays this season.

“But [mistakes were] made a year and a half ago when City lent on sentimentality and the age of these players and the trust - which is right to trust the players who've achieved that much for you - and I think City will be looking to move on Gundogan, simply because it's the right thing to do.

“We have to start thinking for the future and they have to start giving those opportunities to Nico Gonzalez and Reijnders and people like that, because that is how clubs move forward and progresses."

Gundogan returned to Man City last summer after a challenging year at Barcelona, and prior to that spent seven successful seasons at the Etihad, winning 14 trophies and captaining the club to a historic treble in 2022-23, lifting their first ever Champions League title.

Although Gundogan is still rated highly by Guardiola and his experience and leadership qualities are considered invaluable by many within City’s squad, McInerney reluctantly believes that the midfielder is the “obvious one” to move on, while Kovacic may be another who departs if interested suitors come calling.

“Guardiola clearly still absolutely adores Gundogan and rightfully so because he's so smart,” said McInerney. “Look at the quality of his goals as well. It was just Al-Ain, but the quality of the goals were fantastic, his movement was really good against Wydad as well.

“Gundogan doesn't really get injured, he seems to be pretty fit all the time and he's a leader. I wish it was a bit easier with Gundogan, but it isn’t. It feels hard to let go of him, but I think he unfortunately is the obvious one to move on. Likewise Kovacic if anyone wants to come in for him, but I don't know if that's going to happen.

“Unfortunately, I don't really see any scenario where Gundogan doesn't move on. He's the only one really [attracting] any interest and someone has to go, so I think it is going to be Gundogan.”

Will Gundogan fall down midfield pecking order at Man City?

Discussing where Gundogan currently ranks in Guardiola’s midfield pecking order, McInerney has suggested that the return of Rodri could have a significant impact on his game time should he remain at the club next season.

Since the start of the 2024-25 campaign, only Josko Gvardiol (53) has played more matches for Man City than Gundogan (52), who has earned far more minutes than supporters expected and was called upon to play regularly during a mid-season injury crisis.

“As good as Gundogan was at times last season, he was still part of the physical problem, you'd argue, in terms of he couldn't really keep up,” said McInerney. “I think City sacrificed a lot of creativity at times.

“The solution in the second half of the season was to clog the midfield up with three midfielders. We often played all the older fellas - Kovacic, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva - together to stop counters because we didn't have the energy or the legs of younger players to do that.

Rodri-Reijnders link-up to impact Gundogan’s Man City game time?

“I think Guardiola will be hoping Tijjani Reijnders and Rodri lock down the midfield together because they're both big, they're both strong, they're both smart, they both can run. Hopefully Rodri gets back to himself. In that instance, you don't need three players there to do the job of two.

“At that point you can have Rayan Cherki do what De Bruyne used to do and just focus on creativity and so on - that's the thinking there. As much as Gundogan can still offer something, there is limitations to his game and what he can achieve at City.

“Rodri being back changes everything by the way. Rodri being back means that Gundogan is not needed quite as much. I know he’s very different, he's links up with the forwards an awful lot, he would help with the build-up so much and he is obviously so composed, has so much experience and he made things happen on the pitch for City in terms of linking up the defence with the midfield and forward line, [but] Rodri can do all that.

“That level of experience and intelligence isn't necessarily needed as much from Gundogan. You can then focus on letting the number 10 be a number 10, having a sense of goal. Cherki’s goal [against Al-Ain] was fantastic with a little give-and-go with [Erling] Haaland - that's very Gundogan. Gundogan scored a lot of goals from give-and-goes with Haaland before. Cherki can focus on that while also being younger and being the future of the club.

“I think Guardiola probably rates Gundogan really highly, still quite near the top of the pecking order in individual quality, but I think some of his qualities aren't necessarily needed because of returning players and new signings.

“I think Guardiola’s also aware of the limitations and I think he's probably down in the middle of the pecking order. I think you'd still pick him over Kovacic and Nico Gonzalez in a big game, even though [Gonzalez is] a new signing and so on, because I think Guardiola trusts him still.

“But I think Guardiola would have Bernardo Silva now, with Rodri back, over him. I think he'd have Reijnders over him... you'd [also] rather have Cherki or Foden there to offer more legs, so he's dipped down a fair bit to fifth or sixth choice, something like that.”

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Written by
Oliver Thomas