Barcelona Eyeing A Move For This Manchester City Midfielder: What Will He Add To Xavi’s Side? | OneFootball

In a recent segment on Youtube, renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano mentioned that Barcelona are eyeing a move for Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. Romano claimed that the Catalan giants are ‘very interested’ in recruiting the German talent in the summer.

Gundogan’s Impressive Form At Manchester This Season

Gundogan is having another promising season at Man City after putting in a string of impressive performances for them at the centre of the park. The 32-year-old has registered four goals and four assists in 37 matches for the Mancunian club during this campaign on all fronts.

The 32-year-old has given a good account of himself at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s midfield as he is averaging 1.0 tackles, 0.6 interceptions, 1.7 shots and 1.3 key passes per 90 minutes in Premier League football. He has even been tidy when distributing possession from midfield based on his pass completion rate of 86.7% in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).

His current contract at Man City is set to run out at the end of this campaign. Thus, Barca could potentially land him on a free transfer this summer.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 11: Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City reacts during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park on March 11, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

What Will Gundogan Add To Barcelona Boss Xavi’s Team?

Gundogan can get stuck in with a few solid tackles and can make some timely interceptions for his team in the middle of the park when he is playing his best football on the pitch.

The German international has got the vision to engineer some meaningful chances for his teammates in the final third and can make a few clever runs with the ball as well. He is a good striker of the ball from long range and usually operates as a box-to-box midfielder but can also function as a defensive midfielder if needed.

We can expect Gundogan to add more goals and creativity to Barcelona‘s midfield if Xavi can devise a way to bring him to the Nou Camp in the summer.

At 32, the Man City star has still got some years left in his locker to play at a high level. Thus, he would be a good, short-term signing for Barca to pull off during the summer transfer window. Furthermore, he will be available as a free agent soon which makes him an affordable option for the Catalan giants to consider later this year.