Pundit Don Hutchison has urged Manchester City to do all they can to keep hold of Ilkay Gundogan this summer.
As things stand, the midfielder’s contract with the Citizens is set to expire at the end of the month, which has led to several clubs eyeing him up for a transfer move as a free agent.
On Monday, Pep Guardiola reiterated his hopes of seeing the 32-year-old sign a new deal and continue at the Etihad Stadium despite being aware of Barcelona’s interest in signing him.
This has since led to one pundit sharing his thoughts on the matter and why the midfielder is so important for City.
Hutchison raves over Gundogan
Speaking in a recent video on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Hutchison said this about Gundogan and his current situation.
He said: “[He] might fancy a change, working under Guardiola is, I would imagine, pretty tense, that’s what you read and what you hear. But I think he’s a player, if you’re Guardiola, I think you bend over backwards to try and get him to sign a new contract because his football IQ is off the chart.
“He turns into prime [Zinedine] Zidane with about three months to go every single season, he’s reliable, he’s humble. I was listening to the owner talk about him today and they’re desperate to try and keep him on because I think he makes them tick.
“He plays in a number of positions, he’s played as a false nine, he’s got the football IQ to play as a holding-midfield player, he excels as a number eight, he’s the captain of the football club, he’s reliable, he scores goals, gets assists, he just literally does everything.
“This guy, in my opinion, and it’s a great argument when you’re sitting there chatting about Man City and go ‘which name do you think is the first name on the team sheet,’ and my opinion, having watched Gundogan over the years, he’s one of the first on it for me because when you watch him play, to have that football IQ to really excel in six, eight, 10, false nines, that’s a special player that you don’t want to lose.”
As the first signing Guardiola made for City back in 2016, this shows how eager the Spaniard was to have the midfielder in his squad from day one.
Having then gone on to make 304 appearances for the Manchester club across all competitions, scoring 60 goals, delivering 40 assists and winning numerous trophies including their first Champions League title, which he lifted as their captain earlier this month.
By scoring both goals in City’s FA Cup final win over Manchester United towards the end of last season as well as scoring four goals in two games against Everton and Leeds United during the period where City were close to securing their fifth Premier League title in six years, this backs up Hutchison’s point about Gundogan stepping up at the important moments of the season for his side.
With all of that in mind, we feel that the club, in Hutchison’s words, should bend over backwards and do all they can to get the captain to put pen to paper on a new deal and continue leading the team forward.
