Pundit Craig Burley has claimed that Manchester City will manage to cope without Ilkay Gundogan in their team next season.
Earlier this week, the club announced that the midfielder will be joining Barcelona as a free agent following the expiration of his contract at the Etihad Stadium.
This has since led to one pundit sharing his thoughts on this departure and what it could mean for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Pundit backs City to cope without Gundogan
Speaking in a recent video on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Burley said this about Gundogan and how City will go forward without him.
He said: “Gundogan is a terrific player but I think City figure out a way. ‘Ah Vincent Kompany is leaving, how are we going to cope?’ They coped, they recruited.
“Fernandinho, David Silva, he’s coped. Sergio Aguero, you may remember him, he was pretty good at scoring goals, they coped.
“And I think for those reasons, City will find a way. They haven’t got another Gundogan that scores goals and is clever on the ball, but they’ll find a way.”
During his time at the Manchester club, the 32-year-old made 304 appearances for the Citizens across all competitions, scoring 60 goals, delivering 40 assists and winning numerous trophies, as well as recently winning the treble as captain.
A day after the club announced the German’s departure, they officially confirmed the arrival of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea on a four-year deal worth a reported fee of £30m.
This could be seen as City’s example of recruiting a suitable replacement for Gundogan as Burley mentioned.
Having made 221 appearances for Chelsea, this highlights the top-flight experience the Croatian will be able to offer his new side, which could presumably make it easier for him to settle in at the club.
Moving forward, despite Burley insistence that the European champions will be able to cope without their captain, only time will tell whether that ends up being the case and whether or not Kovacic can be the one to fill the hole left by Gundogan.
