Football Espana
·19 August 2024
Manchester City open talks for sensational signing of Barcelona midfielder
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Football Espana
·19 August 2024
Barcelona have made it clear to Ilkay Gundogan that he is not key part of their plans for the upcoming season, and it looks as if could be on his way out of Catalonia little over 12 months after arriving.
On Monday it was reported that Gundogan had given the green light to his agents to look for a new club, amid links to various options. Now, according to Fabrizio Romano, former side Manchester City have gotten in contact with Barcelona regarding a sensational return.
Gundogan also has offers from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while Galatasaray have also been linked to him, but they will only move for the 33-year-old if it is on a free transfer. It looks as if Barcelona will allow him to leave on a free though. Romano has gone on to reveal is that Gundogan will be leaving Barcelona, and that City manager Pep Guardiola is open to a return for Gundogan.
Despite manager Hansi Flick saying over the weekend he believed that his compatriot would be staying, it was the Barcelona coach that told Gundogan he would no longer be a starter under him, as per MD. That has been corroborated by Diario AS, who say that Flick does not believe Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan can be in the team at the same time, as long as he wants to carry out his high press.
The veteran midfielder would save Barcelona around €20m in gross salary (€10m net), which they could use to reinvest in the squad, with their salary limit biting once again. As they are still over the limit, they would be able to reinvest €14m, which could be enough to register Dani Olmo, who missed the first league game of the season due to their financial troubles.
The ex-Manchester City captain played more games than any other player for Barcelona last season, and provided a career-high 14 assists, despite at times playing in a deeper role under Xavi Hernandez. It appears in the fairly clear 4-2-3-1 setup that Flick has been employing, Gundogan is only seen as the furthest forward of the central midfielders, and where Barcelona already have Olmo, Fermin Lopez, Pedri, Gavi, and even Raphinha, who started there on Saturday.
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