19 | Ilkay Gundogan - 2024/25

[M23 Citizen]

Bringing him back was a no brainer with the idea that he could give Rodri a break, come off the bench for minutes and hold down the fort against "lesser" teams but with Rodri now out for the season there's fuck all chance he has the legs to see out 90 minutes constantly.

La Liga has sucked all the sharpness from his game too.

Gündoğan isn’t playing in Rodri’s position, Kovačić is. Gündoğan is deputising for de Bruyne at the moment.

The thing is, we’ve got Foden, McAtee and even Nunes who can play where Gundo is currently operating in attacking midfield and he’s starting every week ahead of them and doing next to nothing.

Surely McAtee could have played with the confidence of his big performance for the U21s in midweek and achieved more in that game that Gundo managed?

Gündoğan looks like he needs a few weeks out of the team where he’s just concentrating on his fitness and sharpness in training.

 

[supercity88]

Gündoğan isn’t playing in Rodri’s position, Kovačić is. Gündoğan is deputising for de Bruyne at the moment.

The thing is, we’ve got Foden, McAtee and even Nunes who can play where Gundo is currently operating in attacking midfield and he’s starting every week ahead of them and doing next to nothing.

Surely McAtee could have played with the confidence of his big performance for the U21s in midweek and achieved more in that game that Gundo managed?

Gündoğan looks like he needs a few weeks out of the team where he’s just concentrating on his fitness and sharpness in training.

I still believe the player he was is in there and he can make an impact for us. But we're not seeing it at the moment. His touch or final ball or even his decision making are all way off it at the moment and he needs to be out of the team for a while. I completely agree that McAtee deserved a shot, although I can understand Pep being cautious after we lost there last season. I was stunned Foden didn't start though, but I would anticipate Gundo moving onto the bench in a couple of weeks as Foden becomes the starter and De Bruyne returns. That will do him good, his impact off the bench with his ability to find space will be a make him a much bigger threat.