Former Manchester City midfielder tipped to be future Etihad Stadium manager by Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Manchester City’s legendary Treble-winning captain and now Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is being tipped by Pep Guardiola for huge strides in management.

Gundogan brought an end to his illustrious time in east Manchester following one of the greatest season’s ever witnessed in football, as City finally got their hands on Europe’s biggest prize alongside domestic glory.

Manchester City’s Premier League title success after shrugging off competition from Arsenal was followed up by an FA Cup final win over Manchester United, before an Istanbul Champions League final saw Rodri score the all-important winning goal to seal a historic Treble.

Lifting all three titles was Ilkay Gundogan, who would go on to leave Manchester City for FC Barcelona just weeks later upon the expiry of his Etihad Stadium contract. However, a new report has detailed the feeling of a return to the club in future, but in a very different role.

According to the information of Manchester City insider ‘Tolmie’s Hairdoo’ on X, Pep Guardiola and ‘members of his circle’ believe that the club’s former captain Ilkay Gundogan will be a future manager of the Etihad Stadium club.

It is detailed that the now-Barcelona midfielder was ‘responsible’ for highlighting the ‘box formation’ being used by one of Manchester City’s youth teams when he was doing his coaching badges at the City Football Academy.

Additionally, both Ilkay Gundogan and Pep Guardiola are claimed to have discussed John Stones in the role – a transformation for the England international that has brought about huge success for both the player and club.

Pep Guardiola’s current Manchester City contract is due to expire at the end of next season, and at present, there is currently no sign of renewal discussions taking place, nor is there any rush from either party to engage in such conversation.

The Manchester City manager has consistently stated in press conferences over recent months that there is plenty of time for both parties to engage in conversation about his future, and that one year is a long time in football.

However, with Guardiola edging into his ninth season as Manchester City head coach, there may be a desire from all parties to continue his project at the Etihad Stadium into a remarkable 10th campaign.