Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is reportedly open to the prospect of joining Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
According to a report by The Sun, Ilkay Gundogan is waiting to see if Barcelona step up their efforts to sign him in the summer transfer window. The German international is interested in making the switch to Camp Nou, but Manchester City are keen to firmly hold on to him.
Gundogan joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2016, arriving at the Etihad as the first signing of the Pep Guardiola era. However, the German midfielder took some time to get going, with injuries hampering his progress to a great extent in his initial years at the club.
2020/21, though, ended up being his best season yet at Manchester City, as he ended the campaign as the surprise top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions. However, with a little over two years left on his deal with the Premier League champions, potential suitors are starting to emerge for the 30-year-old, with Barcelona monitoring his situation.
The interest from Barcelona makes a lot of sense following their failure in pursuit of Georginio Wijnaldum. With Miralem Pjanic facing an uncertain future at Camp Nou, the Blaugrana will need to sign a replacement, especially considering that Ronald Koeman has not trusted up-and-coming midfielders like Riqui Puig and Carles Alena.
After the setback in pursuit of Wijnaldum, Barcelona seem to have gone all out to identify possible alternatives, namely Lorenzo Pellegrini, Nicolo Barella and Fabian Ruiz. And Gundogan is a viable target for the Catalan giants as well, seeing as he can play just about any role in the middle of the park.
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That he will add several goals from midfield is a bonus, and it is hardly surprising that Barcelona are considering a summer move. Meanwhile, Barcelona have been heavily linked with nearly half a dozen Manchester City players while also signing Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero on free transfers from the Premier League heavyweights.
As for Gundogan, the 30-year-old is interested in a switch to Camp Nou but is waiting to see if the La Liga giants step up their efforts to sign him. However, Manchester City have no intention of parting ways with their prized possession, meaning a move will be difficult for Barcelona to pull off. Nevertheless, an intriguing summer beckons.
