Ilkay Gündogan, who closed the official season on Tuesday by participating in the friendly that the German team lost (0-2) against Colombia in Gelsenkirchen, is “close” to completing his move to Barcelona, a source confirmed to ESPN Digital. the Barcelona entity that recognized the existing “optimism” after the last conversations with the footballer’s agents, with his uncle Ilhan Gündogan at the helm.
This Wednesday Mateu Alemany, Barça’s soccer director, traveled to Germany to meet personally with the player’s representative and finish off the Barça proposal, which the club did not confirm if it is for two fixed seasons plus an optional third or directly for three seasons. (Most likely), being fully convinced that there will be no problem to register Gundogan in LaLiga.
The 32-year-old German midfielder is ending his contract with Manchester City and despite the club’s attempts to renew it, he left England three days after winning the Champions League to focus on Germany without giving his approval to the citizen proposal, which gave understand his determination to leave and caused Barça to intensify its contacts with his environment and even with himself through Xavi Hernández, who in the first person told him months ago of his interest in having him, explaining the role he would have for him, It has you, reserved in the team.
«I know that Barça is very interested in his signing. If in the end he decides to go there?… I will tell him that he will have a great time and that Barça makes an extraordinary signing”, revealed Pep Guardiola last Monday, with a tone that denoted pessimism for his continuity and his suspicion that his future is in Barcelona.
“I know that Barça loves him and that Xavi has called him many times,” the City coach resolved in this regard, while the Barça club accelerated contacts with Gündogan’s representatives, who, according to the source consulted, preferred to remove his professional future while he was concentrating with the national team.
Although the signing of the German footballer is not directly conditioned by the departure of any player, the Camp Nou offices continue to work on the departures of footballers who do not enter into the coach’s plans and who, apart from those on loan Samuel Umtiti, Clément Lenglet and Alex Collado (Abde Ezzalzouli will carry out the season at the beginning while with Sergiño Dest there are more doubts for now and the case of Nicolás González remains to be resolved), they focus on the squad itself, understanding that the incorporation of Gündogan opens the door to the transfer of Pablo Torre and a transfer of Franck Kessié.