A new Manchester City era is getting under way.
Pep Guardiola is the Citizens’ new manager and the former Barcelona boss is already beginning to reshape the squad he has inherited.
It’s been confirmed today that Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is to sign for the club in a fee around the £20m mark, and with the German a world class player in his position, he should walk into City’s team.
A man with international pedigree, Gundogan was part of the Dortmund side that won their first domestic double in 2011/12 and was a key member of the team that reached the Champions League final a year later under Jurgen Klopp.
Clearly then, the former Nuremburg man caught the eye of Guardiola in their many clashes over the last few seasons between Dortmund and Bayern Munich and he has acted swiftly in securing his signature.
Gundogan is top drawer player, but what will he actually bring to Man City and the Premier League? FootballFanCast brings you FIVE things…
Assists
Gundogan knows how to use the ball and will be key to Guardiola’s new attacking set up. The midfielder laid on seven assists last season and with players such as Sergio Aguero in line to profit from of his service, City look very threatening going forward. Guardiola likes his team to retain possession but be positive with it, so Gundogan fits the bill perfectly.
Pass completion
Gundogan’s all round passing game will please City fans. In the Bundesliga he averaged 80.9 passes a game with an impressive success rate of 87.8% for the season. His new manager’s style has always been to have midfielders that pass constantly – see Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso – so based on Gundogan’s statistics he’s set to be the latest player to fill this role for the Catalan tactician.
Dribbling
Again, key to Guardiola’s ball retention philosophy Gundogan can travel with the ball with aplomb. The central midfielder averaged almost two a game last season – better than David Silva, which that speaks volumes for the kind of player City have got. Continuing the comparison Gundogan drew more fouls per game than the Spaniard as well as being dispossessed less – here is a player that cherishes the ball like his new boss then.
[ad_pod id=’euro-2016′ align=’center’]
Concentration
Gundogan made just a solitary defensive error last year that led to an attempt on goal and Manchester City need someone like this. Defensive errors ruined any chance the team had of winning the league in 2015/16 and with Vincent Kompany out of the side, as he so often was, they look very shaky at the back. With a player like Gundogan shielding the back four things already look tighter for the Etihad outfit.
[ad_pod id=’euro-2016′ align=’center’]
Great Discipline
Gundogan received just the one booking in the Bundesliga in the season just gone and that shouldn’t be overlooked considering he’s right in the mix for 90 minutes. Meanwhile for City, the two players he is likely to replace – Fernando and Fernandinho – notched up four and eight bookings between them limiting them for the rest of the games they were cautioned in. City are clearly getting a midfielder who they can rely on for the full ninety minutes.
[ad_pod id=’euro-2016′ align=’center’]
