Ilkay Gundogan in link with Manchester City

UPDATE: Di Marzio is reporting that City are indeed very serious in their pursuit for Gundogan despite interest from Barcelona and Juventus. It is thought that City’s interest is extremely strong.

Ilkay Gundogan could be set for a move to Manchester City this summer according to Bild, as one of Pep Guardiola’s first signings for the Blues. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is one name who has been regularly talked up since the announcement of Guardiola as City’s new manager, and this is the latest in a line of links between the club and player.

Following the almost season-long injury in 2013-14, after which concerns were raised about the future of Gundogan’s career, the 25-year-old has grown to be a key figure at Dortmund under Thomas Tuchel. However, the German coach looks likely to lose Gundogan after spending just a season in charge of Dortmund, with City sniffing around the Germany international.

However, Gundogan does still has another 12 months to run on his contract, and Tuchel made it clear he intends to keep hold of the midfielder.

He said:

We are fighting for him, and I believe that we have a chance that he will stay. The importance of Ilkay in this form is undisputed. But one can imagine that the interest from other clubs will be very large.

Barcelona have also been linked with Gundogan, but SPORT say that the player has his heart set on a move to City and that the two clubs have an agreement in place.