Barcelona interested in Manchester City Midfielder on a free

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is attracting interest from Spanish giants Barcelona with his contract up in the summer.

Ilkay Gundogan is currently free to negotiate a move away from Manchester City and the Etihad as he is out of contract in the summer of 2023. With that in mind, FC Barcelona is looking at the situation and eyeing a possible move for the German International – according to the Telegraph.

Let’s first take a trip down memory lane at Manchester City, when Pep Guardiola had just put pen to paper on a deal to become head coach, back in the summer of 2016. His first transfer in charge of Manchester City? You guessed it, Ilkay Gundogan. Gundogan became the first of many transfers that summer and has had endless success in Manchester. The deal was just £20 million in exchange for the player from Dortmund, and you could argue this has been one of the best transfers for City, if not the best when you’re talking value for money.

Ilkay Gundogan has gone on to win 9 trophies in Pep Guardiola’s time at the club, and Gundogan has played a big part in their success. During the 2020/21 season, when Manchester City went on to win the title for the then 3rd time under Guardiola, Gundogan marked a whopping 13 goals in the Premier League and 17 goals in all competitions. He was instrumental in a busy winter schedule and City was reaping the benefits of a player in the form of his life as club legend Sergio Aguero was out due to injury.

Now, at 32 years of age, Ilkay Gundogan might be past his best, but there’s no denying the impact he has had at Manchester City, and what a success story the German has been. As with everybody in such a deep squad, he has been vulnerable to Pep roulette, but for the large part of his time in Manchester, he has been an incredible asset in the team, one that features from the start as often as you could expect given the wealth of talent at Pep’s disposal.

Manchester City would no doubt be foolish to let a player of Gundogan’s quality go for free without trying to at least extend his contract beforehand.

Where do you think Gundogan ends up at the start of the 2023/24 season?