Barcelona have reportedly upped their efforts to secure a transfer deal for Ilkay Gundogan.
As things stand, the midfielder’s contract at Manchester City is set to expire at the end of the month, meaning that unless he signs a new deal at the club, he’ll be leaving as a free agent.
Having attracted interest from the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, some behind-the-scenes details have come to light regarding the efforts one of those clubs have made in trying to lure the German away from City.
Barcelona pushing for Gundogan deal
In a recent article for The Athletic, journalist Pol Ballus said this on the situation.
He said: “After they were rejected by Messi in favour of Inter Miami in MLS, Xavi’s absolute priority is Gundogan.
“The club’s transfer strategy this summer largely hinges on the City captain.
“Gundogan is the only top-quality, highly experienced player left that they can dream to sign in that position. Xavi has been in contact with the 32-year-old Germany international, laying out the role he envisages him playing and explaining how important he would be to the team.
“Barcelona have improved their initial proposal and are offering Gundogan a three-year contract. But there are doubts it is enough, as they cannot guarantee he will actually be registered to play under La Liga’s financial rules.
“Meanwhile City, and manager Pep Guardiola especially, are pushing hard to get a new deal done. Gundogan’s camp insist no final decision has been made, but he will have to make a call sooner or later.”
Since arriving at City as Guardiola’s first signing for the club back in 2016 in a deal worth £20m, the 32-year-old has scored 60 goals and supplied 40 assists in 304 appearances, recently becoming the first City captain to lift the Champions League trophy.
With the City boss describing Gundogan as an “incredible” player and having shared his hopes of seeing him sign a new deal at the club, it’s no surprise to hear that he has been pushing for the midfielder to stay amid interest from his former side.
Moving forward, now that Barcelona have increased their efforts of securing a deal for the City captain, we feel that it should be a top priority at the Manchester club to get the midfielder to sign a new contract and continue his journey with them.
