According to a report by The Sun, Barcelona are interested in signing £21m Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan this summer. The player has two years left on his current deal with the Premier League champions but it might be tough for him to say no to the Catalan giants.
After all, Barcelona are a deeply cultured football club with a rich history and they are among the European elites. But should City allow him to join Ernesto Valverde’s side?
The report further states that Barcelona are eyeing him to replace Andres Iniesta, who has recently departed the club. It goes without saying that Iniesta will always be a modern-day legend for Barcelona and his presence will be missed.
As far as Gundogan is concerned, he could be lured to the Camp Nou with the promise of regular game time. After all, over the course of the last season, the player struggled to nail down a spot for himself in Pep Guardiola’s matchday squad.
Although he appeared 30 times in the Premier League in the previous term, he only started in 15 of those games. However, he featured heavily in cup competitions.
Regardless, the player still managed to chip in with 6 goals and 7 assists in 48 appearances in all competitions last season, but surely a player of his calibre deserves better. Furthermore, at 27 years of age, Gundogan must play more often. But he might struggle to feature regularly for City next season.
There have been reports suggesting that Guardiola is interested in a summer swoop for Napoli’s Jorginho, and given City’s financial backing, it won’t be far-fetched to suggest that a deal could be on the horizon.
If it does happen and Jorginho arrives at City this summer, Gundogan would be pushed further down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium. And it is something he must avoid.
Hence, it might be best for Gundogan to join Barcelona instead. With Iniesta gone, he will have a big role to play and it would be a new challenge for him in numerous ways.
The prospect of donning the famed Barcelona jersey should seem like a tantalizing prospect for the German. Thus, instead of waiting to be pushed down the pecking order at City, Gundogan must opt to join the Catalan giants this summer.
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