Catalan giants Barcelona are reportedly keen on signing Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in January.
According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona want to sign 32-year-old Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan during the January transfer window.
Gundogan will be out of contract at the end of the season, and he will be able to leave the club as a free agent. However, Barcelona are prepared to make a move for him in January and sign the Manchester City midfielder for a nominal fee.
Manchester City are in the middle of a title race and are expected to challenge for the UEFA Champions League as well. It would be quite surprising if Pep Guardiola sanctioned Gundogan’s departure midway through the season, especially with the German international being the club captain.
Gundogan is a key player for Manchester City, and his departure could be damaging to their title aspirations. Despite their resources, Manchester City will struggle to find a quality replacement for the German midfielder midway through the season.
The player has not signed a contract extension with the Premier League club yet. And it will be interesting to see if Manchester City can convince Gundogan to sign a new deal with them. Even at 32, he remains an indispensable part of Manchester City’s first team, and he could be a key player for the club for a few seasons.
Barcelona feel that he would be an ideal fit for their style of play, and his contract situation makes him an attractive option in the market. So the interest from Gundogan makes sense for the Catalan outfit.
Gundogan is represented by the same agency as that of Andreas Christensen. So Barcelona will be hoping to use that connection to lure the Manchester City midfielder to Camp Nou. They signed the Danish defender from Chelsea in the summer transfer window.
Gundogan joined Manchester City back in 2016, and he has helped them win multiple trophies since then. He produced a remarkable performance in the final game of last season when Manchester City’s title hopes were hanging in the balance. The 32-year-old will hope to win the Champions League with them this season and bow out in style.
