Gundogan

[TRUE BLUE NO1]

Maybe rules are flexible when its a tournament summer?

Teams are able to sign players to contracts and agree deals with their clubs, they just cant register them until the transfer window opens....I think thats the same every year. only difference this year is that teams are wanting to do their business early as most of the top players will be playing in euros/copa....Xhaka had reportedly requested any move needed to be sorted out before the euros so he could put his mind to playing for his country and I think thats why Arsenal moved quickly to get deal done.....

 

[Eslam elcity]

Whilst Gundogan, Kroos and Pogba looks awesome on the teamsheet I do not think this solves all our midfield problems. With the Pep system we need a Busquets style of player that breaks play up and quickly moves the ball to the offensive players. As a matter of interest does anyone consider any of our youth players could possibly fulfil this role in the future.

simply , Aleix garcia

 

[Dax777]

Whilst Gundogan, Kroos and Pogba looks awesome on the teamsheet I do not think this solves all our midfield problems. With the Pep system we need a Busquets style of player that breaks play up and quickly moves the ball to the offensive players. As a matter of interest does anyone consider any of our youth players could possibly fulfil this role in the future.

Yeah, that will be Gundogan.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Yeah, that will be Gundogan.

Um, no, it'd be a waste of Gundogan's talents, he's more of a box-to-box player with a slight emphasis on attacking.

The Busquets/Alonso role is a necessary hole in the squad to fill and we need someone who fits it perfectly, we shouldn't just shove a big name player into the role like Real Madrid did with Kroos which worked out horribly.

 

[Kompany is King]

Pep likes youth.

A. Garcia could be a strong possibility. I think he has a big future for us.

 

[Dax777]

Um, no, it'd be a waste of Gundogan's talents, he's more of a box-to-box player with a slight emphasis on attacking.

The Busquets/Alonso role is a necessary hole in the squad to fill and we need someone who fits it perfectly, we shouldn't just shove a big name player into the role like Real Madrid did with Kroos which worked out horribly.

Ilkay Gundogan is a Central midfielder who can play anywhere in Central Midfield. He played a significant amount of time prior to this season at DM. Pirlo too played DM at Juve. This doesn't mean you are a tackling machine. Different players play it differently. That he can play as a CM or AM doesn't diminish his competency at DM. He is not the tackler the Leicester kid is, but he is not being shoved into an unfamiliar role either.

Not to mention, Pep generally ignores these labels anyway. He simply plays the player who fits his idea of what he wants them to do in that role. Primarily, that is be intelligent enough to orchestrate from deep. He tried to get Pirlo when he was at Barca and prior to Busquet's development. So clearly, being a tackling machine is not the most important requirements.

Tackling or better put, recovery of the ball will be done mostly by organized systemic pressure, not some static DM DeJong-ing around the field. So yes, the DM in most likelihood will be Gundogan.

Our early interest and continued interest, suggests this his who Pep has in mind for that role he considers vital to everything his teams do.

 

[FJRMCFC]

Ilkay Gundogan is a Central midfielder who can play anywhere in Central Midfield. He played a significant amount of time prior to this season at DM. Pirlo too played DM at Juve. This doesn't mean you are a tackling machine. Different players play it differently. That he can play as a CM or AM doesn't diminish his competency at DM. He is not the tackler the Leicester kid is, but he is not being shoved into an unfamiliar role either.

Not to mention, Pep generally ignores these labels anyway. He simply plays the player who fits his idea of what he wants them to do in that role. Primarily, that is be intelligent enough to orchestrate from deep. He tried to get Pirlo when he was at Barca and prior to Busquet's development. So clearly, being a tackling machine is not the most important requirements.

Tackling or better put, recovery of the ball will be done mostly by organized systemic pressure, not some static DM DeJong-ing around the field. So yes, the DM in most likelihood will be Gundogan.

Our early interest and continued interest, suggests this his who Pep has in mind for that role he considers vital to everything his teams do.

Yes he can play in "Busquets" role but it'd be a waste of his talents. There's a reason Loew and Tuchel prefer to play him slightly more advanced and sometimes in Loew's case as the #10.

 

[Tron Coltrane]

Yes he can play in "Busquets" role but it'd be a waste of his talents. There's a reason Loew and Tuchel prefer to play him slightly more advanced and sometimes in Loew's case as the #10.

I'm not weighing in on this per se, but I am curious: what does "waste of his talents" mean when you have a coach who wants his most talented player (and passer) in that role? Whoever does end up moving the ball from the back line up the pitch will be whoever Pep thinks is our most intelligent passer, judging by his playing history, coaching history, and public comments.

 

[Dax777]

Yes he can play in "Busquets" role but it'd be a waste of his talents. There's a reason Loew and Tuchel prefer to play him slightly more advanced and sometimes in Loew's case as the #10.

That's Loew and Tuchel. Most coaches he ever had played Macherano at DM. Frankly most deemed him the best DM in the world. Pep got him and after a few months said, Nah! CB you'd be magic. And He was. Told Lahm, DM for you Sir! And Lahm Smashed the position.

So the idea that it's unlikely he'd play an Intelligent player in a position the player has actually played before, seems strange to me. When he has shown a history of actually not giving 2 fucks about labels.

What if he also gets Isco/Pogba? DeBryune, Isco/Pogba Gundogan. Who do you think is likely to be DM?

This is what Pep does. Sure he might not play Gundogan at DM, but I fully expect him to, and would not be surprised if he does.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

That's Loew and Tuchel. Most coaches he ever had played Macherano at DM. Frankly most deemed him the best DM in the world. Pep got him and after a few months said, Nah! CB you'd be magic. And He was. Told Lahm, DM for you Sir! And Lahm Smashed the position.

So the idea that it's unlikely he'd play an Intelligent player in a position the player has actually played before, seems strange to me. When he has shown a history of actually not giving 2 fucks about labels.

What if he also gets Isco/Pogba? DeBryune, Isco/Pogba Gundogan. Who do you think is likely to be DM?

This is what Pep does. Sure he might not play Gundogan at DM, but I fully expect him to, and would not be surprised if he does.

Gundogan has not played that role before though, Klopp didn't use that kind of player in his team at all and had Bender/Kehl do most of the defensive work, meanwhile Tuchel has Weigl who plays that part for his team while Gundogan has a license to go forward. Just because he's played deeper in a midfield two doesn't mean he's actually played the role of a defensive player focusing on pinpoint distribution and keeping control of the game's tempo, although he's decent defensively he's always been partnered with a defensive-minded player so that he can also go forward where he's at his best, a mild case of what Pellegrini did with the Yaya and Fernandinho midfield.

Obviously Pep often plays players out of their natural position and makes it work, on top of those you mentioned there's also Messi as a false nine, Fabregas as a false nine and even as a winger once, Javi Martinez, Alaba and Kimmich as centerbacks, the list goes on and on. However that specific role is of such great importance that I can't imagine him bringing in someone who's not naturally going to fill in seamlessly, when you also consider that Gundogan will miss preseason and won't have time to adapt to a role he's never played I just can't see it. Despite having great all around midfielders like Kroos and Schweinsteiger at Bayern Pep brought in an aging Alonso instead, you need to have the right instincts and football intelligence to be able to play like that, it's not something that can simply be taught.

To me sticking Gundogan down there just doesn't make sense, why would you limit a player that can make a run like this and link up play in the box like this in a desperate attempt to make him play a way he's never done before when he's got so much more to offer? We might aswell make Fernandinho play the role if we're looking to convert a player away from his natural role, even though he's not ideal he's at least better suited towards it than Gundogan.

Also, let's not talk about getting players like Pogba and Isco when we haven't been linked to them from reliable sources at all this window, we can't assume transfers like those will happen.