FC Barcelona are reportedly fantasising about signing Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, with the La Liga giants aiming to make a January swoop for the Germany international.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the European titans are dreaming of adding Gundogan to their midfield ranks in the winter as a replacement for Sergio Busquets, who is expected to leave Barcelona at the end of this season after 17 years at the club.
Barcelona have been linked with numerous midfielders over the past few weeks in the build-up to the January transfer window, yet Gundogan is slowly emerging as Xavi Hernandez’s number-one target ahead of the winter market.
Much like with Busquets, Gundogan’s contract at City is due to expire next summer. And whilst there have been rumours that the 32-year-old could sign a new deal with the Manchester side, links of a move to Barcelona have continued to persist throughout the year.
Signed in 2016 for a reported £21m, Gundogan was the first player brought to City by Pep Guardiola, where the midfield maestro has developed into one of the best players in the Premier League and now captain of the Manchester side following the departure of Fernandinho this summer.
Indeed, City selling Gundogan feels unlikely at this point, but with Barcelona now intent on signing the 2022 FIFA World Cup star, Guardiola and his team must be acting behind the scenes to hand the midfielder a new deal to halt a move to Catalonia in the January transfer window.
Man City have to sign Gundeogan to a new contract amid Barcelona interest
Gundogan has himself admitted that he is open to staying with City beyond this season, but with the January transfer window slowly approaching, little seems to be happening on the contract front to keep the midfielder at the Etihad Stadium.
As a result, there’s good reason to believe why Barcelona are starting to dream about signing Gundogan. And the longer City wait to pen the midfielder down to a new deal, the more Barca’s confidence will grow in the coming weeks over landing the German superstar.
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