Despite suffering two Premier League defeats during a turbulent August, Manchester City will be confident heading back into top-flight action after the lengthy international break.
Since tasting the bitterness of defeat two games on the spin, Pep Guardiola’s men have fought back valiantly and now find themselves unbeaten across their last seven matches in all competitions, with Erling Haaland leading by example once more up top with a crazy 12 strikes already put away.
The hope will be that City are getting back to their frightening, serial-winning best again, having picked up zero trophies last season.
When the Citizens were collecting Premier League trophies for fun, before slipping up to Arne Slot’s Liverpool last campaign, Haaland wasn’t City’s only unbelievable performer who regularly fired on all cylinders.
Incidentally, Ilkay Gundogan – in particular – stood out as one terrific stalwart.
Gundogan's Manchester City career in numbers
So many well-known names come to mind from City’s recent glittering past, with faces such as Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, and Phil Foden always popping up with a moment of class when needed for Guardiola and Co.
Gundogan will also be uttered about in the same breath as these Etihad legends, even if a second stint back in Sky Blue last campaign saw him return for one season, only to then leave again for Galatasaray.
Put the disappointment of the silky German coming back for just one Premier League goal to be added to his City back catalogue, and it’s clear that he’s still a modern and beloved icon.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak even lauded that he will be “go down in the folklore of Manchester City forever” for his “winning mentality” when he initially left English shores in 2023.
Games played
358
Goals scored
65
Assists
47
Premier League titles
5x
League Cups
4x
FA Cups
2x
Community Shields
2x
Champions Leagues
1x
It’s hard to argue against these glowing words, with Gundogan going on to amass 65 goals and 47 assists across 358 appearances.
He also won 14 trophies – which included five Premier League titles falling into his lap – off the back of always delivering in crunch moments, including that goal against Aston Villa to help win them the league and his stunning FA Cup final strike in 2023.
It would have been a tough task this summer for Guardiola to try and overhaul his midfield; therefore, with both the “top class” 34-year-old, as the Spaniard once glowing labelled him, and De Bruyne both exiting in quick succession.
Yet, the revered manager might well have a Gundogan-type player at his disposal right now, who could help catapult the Citizens back to being notorious trophy winners.
Manchester City's new Gundogan
City did splash the cash this summer in an attempt to be seen as a big dog in the Premier League again.
Indeed, after forking out a huge £59m to land Omar Marmoush in January, Guardiola and Co utilised their plentiful resources again in the hectic summer transfer window, with both Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri joining in notable deals, alongside Tijjani Reijnders costing an extravagant £46.5m to pick up from AC Milan.
Affectionately labelled as being “De Bruyne’s heir” after his breakaway strike against Wolverhampton Wanderers on his debut by statistician Statman Dave, it could well be that the exciting Dutchman is more of a Gundogan-style player when delving deeper into his City numbers to date.
While he did show off his assured ability to finish off a chance under pressure, which is very much in keeping with the classy Belgian during his Etihad prime, Reijnders has also very much stood out as an orchestrator of chances from deep when attempting to push his team forward, successfully completing four successful dribbles against Brentford last time out.
During his own peak in England, Gundogan also loved to spring into life from deep, with two successful dribbles managed on his own accord during a memorable 4-3 win against Newcastle United in 2021, off the back of amassing a ridiculous 145 touches of the ball.
The brand-new number 4 has already stood out as a star who also enjoys dictating play, with 63.7 touches of the ball averaged across his opening seven Premier League fixtures, making him look an extremely composed figure in the league from the get-go.
Games played
7
Goals scored
1
Assists
2
Touches*
63.7
Accurate passes*
43.9 (90%)
Key passes*
1.1
Ball recoveries*
3.1
Total duels won*
3.4
With one goal and three assists also next to his name in all competitions, it’s clear that he could grow into a Gundogan-level talent in time as City strive to be Premier League champions again, with “world-class” claims coming his way, too, courtesy of Italian commentator Marco Bonetti.
At 27, it could well be time for Reijnders to experience a second wind and become City’s vital glue, like the German managed to achieve after making his own debut in England at 25.
