There are doubts over the future of Ilkay Gundogan at Manchester City.
The German returned to the Etihad Stadium last summer having left Barcelona, but things have not worked out for the midfielder this season as the 34-year-old has struggled in a City team that has not been at their expected level for the majority of the campaign.
Things have been better for the Manchester club and the veteran star in recent weeks, but doubts have still remained over Gundogan’s future, with it being understood that the Man City star would love to play for Galatasaray before his career comes to an end.
Man City have held meetings to finalise their summer transfer plans this week and a decision on the future of Gundogan has been made.
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Ilkay Gundogan decision made by Man City
Although he hasn’t lived up to the level he showed during his first spell at Man City, Gundogan is still impressing players within Pep Guardiola’s squad and it has been decided that the German will remain at the Etihad Stadium next season.
That is according to The Athletic, who reports that Gundogan will remain at Man City after an option for a second year has been triggered due to the number of games the 34-year-old has played this season.
Gundogan hoped to remain at Man City for another campaign and it is a smart choice from Guardiola as the Spanish coach could lose several of his more experienced stars ahead of the 25/26 campaign.
Kevin De Bruyne is set to leave Man City this summer and the Belgian superstar will be joined in heading for the exit door by Kyle Walker.
There are also doubts over the future of Ederson and Bernardo Silva, and losing Gundogan in addition to these four stars could be a disaster for City.
On the other hand, there are positives to take from the exits of these big stars and it is something the Manchester club will look to take advantage of.
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Man City to trim wage bill this summer
In addition to the Gundogan news, The Athletic also reported that Man City plan to trim their wage bill this summer, however, the Manchester club will still look to bring in players to take the team forward but that does not mean that they will go big on reinvesting all of the money saved from high-profile departures.
The report states that Man City are currently identifying players they believe can make a big impact who will not have demands on par with some of the club’s biggest earners, which would only rule out the very top-level stars in the world, ones that City would generally never target anyway.
| Player | Weekly Salary |
| Erling Haaland | £525,000 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | £400,000 |
| Jack Grealish | £300,000 |
| Bernardo Silva | £300,000 |
| Omar Marmoush | £295,000 |
This is a smart move from the board at Man City as this summer looks set to be the biggest refresh at the Manchester club since the arrival of Guardiola.
Should the Premier League giants get it right, it could provide the foundations for years of success, but it remains to be seen how Hugo Viana gets on ahead of his first full season as Man City’s Director of Football.
