Manchester City Coach Pep Guardiola Eager for Ilkay Gundogan's Return from FC Barcelona

New Delhi: Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola has reportedly given his approval for the potential return of FC Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan to his squad. This news comes from renowned transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, who has cited his sources as anonymous.

“Understand Pep Guardiola has already approved Ilkay Gundogan’s return to Manchester City,” Romano tweeted on Tuesday morning in Europe.

Understand Pep Guardiola has already approved Ilkay Gündogan’s return to Manchester City.

Pep wants Gündo back as talks are now taking place with his camp, first contact made yesterday.

Decision up to Gündogan as he has proposals also from Saudi/Qatar; Man City, on it. pic.twitter.com/7jdk9l6WiD

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 20, 2024

“Pep wants Gundo back as talks are now taking place with his camp, first contact made yesterday. Decision up to Gundogan, as he has proposals also from Saudi/Qatar; Man City, on it,” the Italian concluded.

Ilkay Gündogan has been at the center of transfer rumors all summer out of Barcelona, with fresh speculation heaping on about a possible exit.

Initially, Ilkay Gündoğan was left out of Hansi Flick’s Matchday 1 squad to face Valencia, but insider Gerard Romero reported that this was due to Gündoğan recovering from a facial injury sustained during Barcelona’s 3-0 loss to AS Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy match.

Currently, Barcelona is grappling with financial fair play constraints, and offloading players with higher salaries, like Ilkay Gündoğan, could significantly help in registering new signings, such as Dani Olmo.

Ilkay Gündoğan took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to congratulate his Barcelona teammates on their heroic 2-1 comeback win at Mestalla. Meanwhile, head coach Hansi Flick revealed in an interview with Spanish television that he had a conversation with Gündoğan and expressed confidence that the player, whom he once made captain of the German national team, would stay at the club.

On Sunday, Radio Catalunya reported that Ilkay Gündoğan reached out to Manchester City, where he spent seven years (2016–2023), to explore a possible return just days before his transfer situation became a hot topic. Cadena SER later discussed how Gündoğan has accepted a proposal to leave Barcelona, a club he joined only a year ago, and it seems Manchester City is now open to welcoming back their former captain, who led them to an unprecedented treble in the 2022/2023 season.