In his early football career, Ilkay Gundogan was regarded as the player that made the Dortmund midfield tick. He was often linked with big-money moves to the Premier League, with Arsenal reported to have been interested in signing the star on a number of occasions.
However, in truth, the 26-year-old has never really fulfilled his potential, mainly due to injury problems. He struggled to complete a whole Bundesliga campaign with BVB. He even arrived at City carrying an injury that delayed the start of his Citizens career.
In the last few games, though, he has shown that he has the talent to create and score goals. Gundogan is a very intelligent footballer and if given space can be highly influential for his team.
In his last two appearances, Gundogan has scored four times and produced an assist against West Brom and Barcelona respectively. His influence in the Manchester City midfield seems to be growing game by game.
The City team is full of players with football intelligence and they seem on the same wavelength as the former Nuremberg star. With Pep Guardiola as his boss, the Germany international may have found the perfect club to find his best form.
Gundogan’s record of five goals and two assists in ten appearances is a pretty good one considering the midfielder did not enjoy the best of records in the stats department at Dortmund.
The player often used as a deep-lying midfielder or as a defensive midfielder has been given more license to express himself in an attacking way at City. It’s currently paying off handsomely for Gundogan and his English club.
Ilkay Gundogan has always been highly-rated, but it seems we are only now seeing the best of the Germany international. If Gundogan continues in a similar vein then he will no doubt become a crucial player for City for years to come.