Ilkay Gundogan - Done Deal

[skillman]

What is this hyping om mcatee ? He needs a loan, one we choose this time

Pep won’t let him leave. He said as much after the community shield.

I trust his judgement of a player over anybody else’s so personally hope he stays.

And Pep was so adamant in his praise for McAtee that I’d go as far as saying that any move for Gundo would only be sanctioned if it didn’t directly affect JM’s progression.

If anything, it would improve him. Foden always highlights staying and training with Silva (and KDB) as his learning over a loan move and he’s turned out OK… Especially when you compare to the other EDS player who left and not can’t get a game at the worst rag team in years.

 

[Burtonblue]

RVP going to the rags for a year worked out well for them

Lampard was great for us

Sometimes the elder player is what you need

Plus I think he would potentially be in a great position to succeed Pep as manager. He has a huge footballing brain and the respect of everyone in the squad and it’s exactly how Pep went onto manage Barca, as an ex player.
Please come home Gundo!

 

[PabZabb]

I’ll be as thrilled with this as I was when SWP came home

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Stop digging

More poking than digging!

Can’t a guy have a little fun on a quiet Monday?!

As you know (or should) I’m a champion of women’s rights and am not the least bit misogynistic, which was why I even expressly stated that the opinion that some players might get their heads turned by the insistence of their significant others wanting out of Manchester could be considered a tad misogynistic.

Accordingly, as someone who was self aware enough of the potential mischaracterization of the thought to prepare others for the faux outrage they might feel, it is amusing and not a little ironic to now see the misandry and chiding.

Have a good Monday and I hope the rest of the week feels half as good as that result yesterday!

:-)

 

[Vienna_70]

According to Kicker Ilkay has announced his retirement from international football.

 

[Blue Smarties]

What is this hyping om mcatee ? He needs a loan, one we choose this time

Exact opposite to what he needs. He needs a year around the likes of KDB and Bernardo. Especially if Gundo comes back. He’s said as much himself.

 

[ninjamonkey]

I dismissed this last week as didnt think we would even entertain paying a fee for somebody who left us a year ago. If there's no fee though, it's a no brainer. We've got 2 spaces in the squad, likely 3 once cancelo is shipped out so there's space for him.

Between him, Kovacic and Bernardo we could cope better without Rodri although it's still not preferable to having a real backup and he would also make the false 9 backup to haaland slightly more viable should we fail to fill that gap too.

We should still be prioritising bringing in a real 6 and a real striker but bringing iilkay back makes it's a decent enough contingency plan if we fail to do that.

He can also act as a warning to anybody else they might try and tempt.

12 month contract with an option for a further year if both sides agree. get it done now.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

RVP played at least 3 years with the rags

I don't remember, but only had 1 decent season is possibly what kaz meant

The season they won the PL iirc.

Correction he was with the rags for 3 years.

 

[adrianr]

I'm choosing to believe this is true for no other reason than the mental image of Txiki nearly laughing himself to death whilst hanging up the phone.

 

[MarsLlama]

Don't think it was that stupid. We kept Fernandinho longer than we ought to.

That is slightly different though as we moved Ferna to a defensive position later on in his career, where suddenly mobility and pace were even more crucial than before even though his legs were less able to provide those things. Great midfielders can sometimes remain great until much older than Ilkay is now.

And that's coming from someone who believe that Fernandinho was a slightly better player than Gundogan! The margins between them are extremely narrow however.