Three Players Manchester City Could Sign To Replace Ilkay Gundogan

Manchester City club captain Ilkay Gundogan has joined Barcelona on a free transfer.

Given his massive contributions to the team last season, which led the Sky Blues to an unprecedented treble, he will need replacing – and fast.

In this list, we will look at three potential candidates who could replace Gundogan in Manchester City’s first team from a range of different clubs.

We will be taking a range of factors into consideration for this list – given the wealth of experience that Gundogan added to City, we’ll be looking primarily at midfielders over the age of 28.

Mateo Kovacic

Manchester City have been heavily linked with a move for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic in recent weeks – given his similarities with Gundogan, it isn’t difficult to see why.

While they are far from exactly the same – Kovacic is a somewhat more defensive-minded player – they both possess excellent passing and technical ability.

Kovacic has had a tough time with the Blues over the past couple of seasons – a move to the Etihad Stadium could be the best result for all parties involved.

Marco Verratti

Marco Verratti is perhaps the player who is the most similar to Ilkay Gundogan in this list – but this does not mean he is necessarily the best choice.

Nevertheless, Verratti possesses wonderful technical ability – his quick feet and stunning range of passing make him a very effective playmaker.

While his workrate can often leave something to be desired, as can his defensive ability, he will add a brilliant creative spark to City’s squad.

Joshua Kimmich

This would be our pick – Joshua Kimmich has been one of the best midfielders (and also one of the best right-backs) in the world for some time now.

While arguably not as technically proficient as Gundogan is, he is nevertheless an excellent passer and has a gas tank that would make a monster truck blush.

He has been a cornerstone of Bayern Munich’s team for years now – he has absolutely no problem in playing at the very highest level of professional football. With that being said, City may have to fight for his signature – whether they are willing to do so or not is another story.