İlkay Gündoğan’s Movement in the Final Third

İlkay Gündoğan began his career at VFL Bochum, breaking through their youth academy. He began playing for the club’s reserve team in 2008 before securing a move to FC Nürnberg the following season. His first big move came when Borussia Dortmund acquired him in 2011; he helped Dortmund win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in his maiden season. After being part of the Dortmund team that reached the UEFA Champions League Final in 2013 under Jürgen Klopp, Gündoğan signed for Manchester City in the summer of 2016 where he became Pep Guardiola’s first signing. 

Since his arrival at Manchester City, Gündoğan has found it difficult to sustain a place in midfield. The excellent midfield trio of Fernandinho, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne guided City to the Premier League title in 2018, as they became the first ‘Centurions’ of the Premier League era by scoring 100 points. This inevitably made it difficult for Gündoğan to break into the side, amid the consistency of the midfield trio.

However, when Gündoğan has played, he has predominantly played in a deeper role, often playing in a double pivot alongside Fernandinho or Rodri. Gündoğan even operated as the lone defensive midfielder towards the back end of the 2018/19 season, a key role to play within the team, which portrays Guardiola’s trust in the German. This trust was repaid as City went on to secure their second title in succession amid fierce competition from close rivals Liverpool. 

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