Ilkay Gundogan must step up for Man City fans breaks silence on recent club failures

Ilkay Gundogan must step up for Man City fans breaks silence on recent club failures

Ilkay Gundogan has sent a lengthy message to Man City supporters insisting the club will turn things around after their recent meltdown.

 

 

The midfielder returned to the Etihad in the summer after a year away at Barcelona, having won 12 major honours in his first seven-year spell with Pep Guardiola’s side.

 

This time round things have been much more challenging for the German and his teammates. A 2-0 win away at Leicester on Sunday (29 December) was just their second win in 14 games in all competitions.

 

Now Gundogan has opened up on the challenges that has brought for Man City, while also reiterating his commitment to the club, with his contract due to expire in the summer.

 

 

Taking to his Instagram page on Monday (30 December), the 34-year-old wrote:

 

“I wanted to say thank you for this year’s support. I know it’s been a very difficult and challenging time recently – something we’ve never experienced at Man City together so far. That’s why I appreciate your support even more in the last couple of weeks. I am confident the next weeks and months of 2025 can only and will get better. We need to regain our self-confidence that we’ve had for so many years. I still feel so good in this city with my family and I am so thankful for everything this city and this club has given to me in my life. I also know I can do better and I will give everything in 2025 together with our manager, my teammates and the whole club to get more positive results again. There’s still a lot to fight for in this season. Let’s stick together even more and make 2025 a successful year. See you soon, take care, stay healthy and all the best for 2025 to you and your loved ones!”

 

Man City

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Ilkay Gundogan must step up for Man City soon

 

Football Insider Opinion

 

The absence of Rodri is something that has been keenly felt by Pep Guardiola’s side since he suffered his serious injury earlier in the campaign.

 

One player that has put pressure on at Man City in recent months is Gundogan, who at 34-years-old has arguably had a bigger workload to get through than he might have expected.

 

 

Indeed, there have been times where he has been caught out in that role this season, to the detriment of his team.

 

As a player who has enjoyed such a successful career, who is now back at a club that means so much to him, that is surely going to hurt Gundogan and his pride.

 

 

With that in mind, he is surely going to be desperate to make up for that for Man City in what remains of the campaign.

 

Considering he seems so happy in Manchester, and the fact he is out of contract in the summer it may be important he does that from the perspective of his own future as well.

 

Marching to Spurs? Man City’s Grealish stance ‘revealed’ amid Tottenham interest

Tottenham Hotspur have ‘little chance’ of prising Jack Grealish away from Manchester City during the January transfer window, according to a report.

 

Three-and-a-half years after his £100m arrival from Aston Villa, the 29-year-old is still struggling to justify his nine-figure price tag, only registering two assists and no goals in 14 games this season.

 

Grealish was only an unused substitute in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Leicester City after recovering from a knock, and he has failed to directly contribute to a goal in his last eight top-flight appearances.

 

The England international still has two-and-a-half years left to run on his contract with the Premier League champions, but his continued troubles have led to increased speculation surrounding a potential exit.

 

According to the Daily Mail, both Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United could offer Grealish an escape route from the Premier League, although it is not clear whether the two sides would make their move in January or the summer.

 

Grealish expected to stay at Man City in January

Marching to Spurs? Man City’s Grealish stance ‘revealed’ amid Tottenham interest

However, a separate report from the Manchester Evening News states that the attacker should not be allowed to leave Man City midway through the campaign due to Pep Guardiola’s selection crisis.

 

 

The champions-in-crisis have managed relatively well at the top of the pitch, barring long-term absentee Oscar Bobb, who is not expected back from his leg fracture until the first couple of weeks of February.

 

Matheus Nunes – who has also been filling in on the left-hand side when necessary this season – is also struggling with a knock, and it is unclear whether he will be fit to face West Ham United on January 4.

 

 

Rodri, Ruben Dias and John Stones are also lying on the treatment table, while Kyle Walker and Ederson have both come down with illnesses of late, so Guardiola is in no position to weaken his squad over the winter.

 

 

Grealish has contributed 14 goals and 20 assists in 143 appearances for the Citizens in all competitions since his arrival, but he has only appeared from the start in six Premier League games so far this season.

 

Will Man City make any signings in January?

Marching to Spurs? Man City’s Grealish stance ‘revealed’ amid Tottenham interest

With several key names stricken and others in their 30s – such as Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan – Guardiola has conceded that a January rebuild might be necessary.

 

 

 

“If we can, we have to add players, definitely. We struggle especially at the back, in the middle,” Guardiola told Amazon Prime before his side’s 1-1 draw with Everton on Boxing Day.

 

“Saying that, I don’t know what is going to happen in the transfer window. In winter time it is not easy, but everyone is aware even the players ask themselves ‘Oh, are we going to add some players please?'”

 

The Citizens have become famed for their barnstorming runs in the second half of Premier League campaigns, but there is next to no chance of a springtime turnaround reviving their title charge.

 

Guardiola’s side are 14 points below leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand on the faltering holders, while they are also four points off the Champions League places at the halfway mark.

 

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