Manchester City reluctant on handing new two-year contract to star midfielder

Officials at Manchester City are said to be reluctant to hand club captain Ilkay Gundogan a brand new deal, according to a new report.

The Germany international midfielder is into the final months of his existing deal with the Premier League champions, and will be free to leave the club this summer, should an agreement over extended terms not be reached in the coming months.

Manchester City are understood to appreciate the qualities still on offer from the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder, but also understand the important of consistently rebuilding each summer to retain their place at the top of English football.

As such, there is a certain element of hesitancy when it comes to the future of Ilkay Gundogan, both from the viewpoint of City officials themselves, and from the part of the 32 year-old – who realises that his next deal is likely to be his final big contract of his professional career.

In a fresh update to the situation concerning Ilkay Gundogan, the Mirror report that the Manchester City star – who was one of Pep Guardiola’s first signings in the summer of 2016 – is attracting interest from both Spain and Germany, with FC Barcelona known to be keen.

Simon Mullock writes, as part of a bumper update on the situation at the Etihad Stadium, that there is currently a ‘reluctance’ to hand Ilkay Gundogan the two-year extension he wants from his current employers.

Speaking during a recent press conference, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was quizzed on the future of his current club captain, to which he responded, “I know my opinion about Ilkay (Gundogan). Ilkay, what he has done against Aston Villa last season, he can do whatever he wants.”

“He has paradise already. He knows exactly my opinion about him, the club knows it, but it’s a question of the club and him, and his agent. Whatever is going to happen, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be good for him.”

“Really we want (him), for how he behaves, is behaving, all his life, all his period here in Manchester. But what’s going to happen, I’m sorry, these kind of things belong to the club and the player.”