FC Barcelona is reportedly interested in signing Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in January, with the La Liga giants hoping to complete a January transfer for the Germany international.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the European giants hope to add Gundogan to their midfield ranks in the winter as a replacement for Sergio Busquets, who is set to leave Barcelona at the end of the season after 17 years with the club.
Barcelona has been linked with a number of midfielders in the run-up to the January transfer window, but Gundogan is gradually emerging as Xavi Hernandez’s top 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 rumors 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 is 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 HAS 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 that Barcelona is 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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