Manchester City fans will naturally be sad to see Ilkay Gundogan make a summer exit give he has written his name into the club’s history books.
The Treble-winning captain was Pep Guardiola’s first signing as Blues boss and the £20m they paid for him has been repaid and then some. It’s easy to be blinkered by recent form in football and sometimes it’s worth stepping back to assess the big picture.
Despite Gunodgan’s sensational last two months of the season, City fans understand why the midfielder wants to leave. The Germany international started 27 of City’s 38 Premier League games, which isn’t overly high for a club skipper.
The season prior he started just 20 and the campaign before that 23. It seemed inevitable he would exit at the end of his contract and it was only the stunning end to a phenomenal season that cast doubt over that.
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Gundogan will clearly be a loss. But City will survive as they have done throughout Guardiola’s tenure. Every year of his reign he's lost a key player who has been instrumental in the years prior.
After abruptly showing the door to Joe Hart in 2016, Pablo Zabaleta left in 2017. A year later it was Yaya Toure before Vincent Kompany gave his final bow in 2019.
David Silva left in 2020 before Sergio Aguero said a tearful goodbye the summer after. The exit of Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling last year was supposed to hurt City, but they instead grew to a new height. The exit of Gundogan presents Guardiola with a familiar test of having to find another ample replacement.
Barring his first bedding-in year, Guardiola has won at least one trophy in every season. He has managed to evolve the side into a silverware-devouring machine and his planning has a lot to do with it. When he showed Hart the door, Claudio Bravo was waiting on the other side and ultimately Ederson arrived and raised the bar.
Kyle Walker came in to replace Zabaleta 12 months later and Rodri was at the Etihad two years before Fernandinho’s inevitable exit. And Guardiola has planned ahead again by bringing in Mateo Kovacic before Gundogan decided he was Barcelona bound.
It’s debatable whether he is a direct replacement but the Croatia international certainly adds quality. City are mulling over a move for Declan Rice although have yet to make an official approach to West Ham.
Guardiola is doing his business early, which cannot be said for all of City’s Premier League rivals. Gundogan’s contribution to City’s era of dominance cannot be understated, and he may follow the footsteps of Aguero, Kompany and Silva by one day having a statue made.
Meanwhile, Guardiola is going about completing a summer task he is long accustomed to - filling a hole left by a Blues great.
