Why Gündogan Could Be City's Most Important Summer Signing

In modern day football, social media is the fastest way to check when a transfer goes through. Fans often tweet their club accounts demanding they announce the signing of a player, be it seriously or as a joke. Ilkay Gundogan, though, sent Twitter into meltdown when he tweeted the Manchester City account on Thursday morning suggesting they ‘announce Gundogan’. City promptly did just that. 

After months of speculation linking the midfielder with a move to Juventus, Barcelona and City, it was the Citizens who won the race to secure Gundogan’s services. He is the first arrival at the Etihad Stadium in what is expected to a hectic summer ahead of Pep Guardiola’s first season at the helm. The former Bayern Munich boss is set to make wholesale changes at the club during the transfer window, with Gundogan’s arrival believed to be the first of many. 

Gundogan is seemingly the first piece of the puzzle required to mould the team in his image. With Yaya Toure set to be shown the Etihad exit door, a driving force from deep is required to bring the team forward from the middle of the park. This is an area where Gundogan excels, when fit. He has developed a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘dribbling’ and for good reason having completed 2.2 successful dribbles per game in the Bundesliga last season; only Henrikh Mkhitaryan (2.6) averaged more of all Dortmund players. 

Evidently, when breaking forward with the ball, the German is a difficult player to stop, which is exactly the offensive threat City require. While Toure is still a handy performer when on top of his game, the experienced Ivorian has regressed, now struggling to dictate matches as he once did. Indeed, his WhoScored rating in the Premier League last season (7.22) was his lowest in the last three campaigns and points to an ever-declining influence. 

Having previously been sold by Guardiola during his time as Barcelona head coach, it would be little shock to see Toure depart again under the Spaniard. Provided Gundogan can recover fully from his current knee injury, however, Toure’s departure wouldn’t be too big a blow. City’s new arrival will miss Euro 2016 having sustained a dislocated kneecap last month, with his ongoing fitness issues a concern. 

His big money arrival is indeed a risk for City, but if Gundogan can recover accordingly, the Citizens will have themselves one of the finest all-round midfielders in the league. His offensive work is well documented, with Gundogan not only capable of carrying possession forward from midfield, but also able to draw fouls in dangerous positions for his club side. Only Mkhitaryan (1.9) was fouled more times per game than Gundogan (1.8) of all Dortmund players last season. 

With City having gained a WhoScored strength of ‘attacking set pieces’, Gundogan’s ability to draw fouls will not only help ease pressure on the defence, but provide City with another route to goal. With the Premier League and Bundesliga played at a similar tempo, Gundogan shouldn’t be forced to alter his attacking game too much in order to effectively transition to English football, which will have further heightened City's desire to get him on board. 

The adaptation shouldn't effect Gundogan’s distribution then, and he was one of the most impressive performers on the ball in the Bundesliga last season, averaging the fourth most passes per game (80.9). Given City averaged the fourth most possession (55.2%) in England’s top tier last term, both parties seem perfectly suited for one another. City will be able to assert their dominance in the middle of the park over opponents and control proceedings with Gundogan in the side. 

Defensively, also, he is a hugely effective performer having won possession in the middle third more times (237) than any other player in the last two Bundesliga seasons combined. Having made an impressive 2.3 interceptions per game in Germany’s top tier last term, Gundogan’s ability to carry out the necessary defensive duties will not only deflect danger away from the City goal, but his commendable reading of the game means he can instigate attacks and drive the team forward. 

There remains a lingering worry over his fitness, with it taking well over a year for Gundogan to recover from a back problem sustained in August 2013. It will take some time to overcome his latest set back too, with Gundogan not expected to return to action until well into the new season, but provided he makes a full recovery; Guardiola has the ideal midfield general required to make an immediate impact in his debut campaign in charge of City.

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