Manchester City losing battle to retain star member of club’s first-team leadership group

FC Barcelona are reportedly growing in confidence regarding their interest in Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan this summer.

The 32 year-old Germany international has left his longer-term club future in limbo for a number of months now, having so far failed to reach an agreement with his current employers over an extension to his contract.

Despite that, Gundogan has remained an integral member of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City set-up as they pursue a treble of trophy successes this season, while also being the nominated captain of the squad.

While the player’s focus will almost certainly be on his duties with the Premier League champions across three competitions, his representatives continue to work on securing the midfielder’s future beyond the end of the campaign.

However, that future looks to be away from Manchester City at present, with a new report offering plenty of positivity for Barcelona fans hoping to see the four-time Premier League champion at Camp Nou next season.

According to the information of The Times’ Paul Hirst, Barcelona are now ‘growing increasingly confident’ of signing Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer at the end of this season, following another round of talks with the player’s representatives last week.

It is further reported that the La Liga giants have offered the Manchester City captain an initial two-year contract, with the option of a further year – a deal that is worth more than the shorter deal that the Premier League champions have put forward.

For now, Ilkay Gundogan and his Manchester City teammates will remain firmly focussed on the immediate tasks at hand, with the squad travelling to Munich on Tuesday afternoon ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash with Bayern on Wednesday night.

City currently hold a three-goal advantage from the first-leg last week and will look to see out the contest at the Allianz Arena to set up a semi-final clash against either Real Madrid or Chelsea next month.

City then take on an FA Cup semi-final tie against Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, before all focus turns to the visit of Arsenal in a mammoth Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium next week.