Five reasons why Barcelona are keen to sign Manchester City heavyweight – report

While the summer transfer window is still not officially open for business in Spain, Barcelona are already making serious efforts to close some operations in the coming days.

One of the main operations that the Blaugrana wish to finalise in the coming days is the capture of Manchester City captain and legend Ilkay Gundogan.

The 32-year-old will become a free agent this summer as his contract expires on June 30 and the Catalans are intent on securing his services. Reports suggest that the La Liga champions have already sent a three-year contract offer to the midfielder and are expecting a response this week, possibly even today.

In fact, Mundo Deportivo’s Fernando Polo is reporting that Gundogan is the favourite to become Barça’s first signing of the summer. And the journalist goes on to outline the five reasons why Xavi and the Catalan giants are so intent on his signing.

1. Free agency

One of the main factors behind Barcelona’s strong pursuit of Gundogan is his impending free-agency status. As iterated earlier, the 32-year-old’s contract with Man City runs down on June 30 and he could be signed for free in the summer, which is bound to appeal to the Blaugrana, given their financial situation.

Not having to pay a fee for a player of Gundogan’s quality attracts the La Liga champions. And given that he will turn 33 in a few months, they believe that he will not be demanding a large signing-on bonus either.

2. Versatility

Xavi has been one of the main advocates of a move for Gundogan and as per the report, the primary motive behind the manager’s insistence on the veteran midfielder’s signing is his versatility and tactical flexibility. The Barcelona head coach believes that Gundogan could occupy four different positions on the pitch for him.

Xavi is of the opinion that the German can slot in as an interior midfielder on the right or the left or even play as a false winger and drift infield to allow Alejandro Balde to make runs outside. Furthermore, there is a belief that the 32-year-old can even be used as a pivot if and when needed.

3. More quality in the interior midfield positions

Oftentimes in the 2022/23 campaign, Barcelona appeared disjointed and lacking ideas, especially when Pedri was unavailable due to injuries. Their midfield play looked dull and there was not enough to connect with and feed the forwards like Robert Lewandowski.

As such, Xavi & co. are hoping to address this problem with the incorporation of Gundogan. The 32-year-old is capable of playing those defence-splitting forward passes for the attackers, which would help decrease the dependency on Pedri for chance-creation from the centre.

4. Goalscoring abilities

Another area where Barcelona lacked this past season was goals from midfield. Pedri led the way with seven goals, but there was not enough contribution from the likes of Gavi and Frenkie de Jong. And Gundogan’s arrival would help address that issue.

The 32-year-old netted 11 goals in the 2022/23 campaign, including a brilliant brace in the FA Cup finals against Manchester United. He has the knack of making late runs into the box and getting on the end of chances which would help the Catalans a great deal.

5. Experience

Lastly, Xavi and Barcelona wish to sign Gundogan to add some much-needed experience to their midfield unit. Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, and Pablo Torre are all young, and with Sergio Busquets departing, the Blaugrana are losing their most experienced midfielder.

Hence, the German’s signing is sought to add that sense of experience and leadership in midfield, which will benefit the youngsters in the team.