Ilkay Gündogan: The Player of the Season candidate that no one foresaw

‘Most improved’ is an award with an unfortunate reputation, seen as an accolade provided on pity instead of recognising true talent.

However, this season with all the uncertainties and peculiarities that a pandemic and a season of football behind closed doors has thrown at us, it’s only right that the leading candidate for Player of the Season over 20 games in is arguably someone who was not even considered to be amongst the top-flight’s elite before the 2020/21 campaign commenced.

For the vast majority, if not the entirety, of Pep Guardiola’s reign at Manchester City, midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne has been highlighted as the kingpin of the Spaniard’s side. When the Belgian has been absent, City have lacked the creative spark provided by the former Wolfsburg and Chelsea man, particularly in significant games.

It has seemed that no amount of money has been able to unlock a suitable replacement…until this season. The ironic part is that he was signed four years ago. This man is, of course, Ilkay Gündogan.

The German was recently awarded the accolade of Premier League Player of the Month for January having scored five goals in six games as Manchester City took a firm grip of the title race, winning their last 11 Premier League games.

An honour to be @premierleague Player of the Month. Thanks to everyone who has voted for me ⭐?? A big thank you to all my teammates – it would have not been possible without your amazing support!?@ManCity pic.twitter.com/yIXJI9Sgpl

— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) February 12, 2021

His form since the turn of the year has been mouthwatering. The 30-year-old has scored nine Premier League goals in as many appearances in 2021 with pundits suggesting that he is the Player of the Season so far.

Gündogan was Guardiola’s first signing as Manchester City boss, acquiring the midfielder from Borussia Dortmund for a reported £20m despite a notorious (at the time) recent injury record.

The midfielder dislocated his kneecap in training just a month before his move to North-West England and missed the European Championships in France that summer.

This was particularly unwelcome news for the then 25-year-old having missed Germany’s 2014 World Cup triumph in Brazil with a back problem that ruled him out for almost the entire 2013/14 campaign.

Despite carrying an injury, it was clear that Guardiola had been a distant admirer of the midfielder whilst managing Dortmund’s Klassiker rivals Bayern Munich.

On completion of the deal, City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain labelled Gundogan as:

“An intelligent and versatile midfielder who can operate in a number of different roles” and added that “he will be a very important player for us [City] in the coming years.”

But where did it all begin for Gundogan?

Early career

Ilkay Gündogan was born on the 24th October 1990 to Turkish parents in Gelsenkirchen, home of future club Dortmund’s bitter rivals Schalke 04. Before his move to Dortmund, the German made his name at 1. FC Nürnberg.

Having signed for the Bavarian club in early 2009 from VFL Bochum’s youth setup, the then 18-year-old made just one appearance as a substitute in the 2. Bundesliga as Nürnberg achieved promotion to the German top-flight. However, it was in the Bundesliga where Gündogan got his chance.

In two top-flight campaigns with Der Club, the midfielder made 52 appearances in all competitions and provided 14 goal contributions as the south German club narrowly avoided relegation in 2009/10 and then went on to finish sixth the following season.

Scoring five goals and recording three assists in 25 Bundesliga appearances in 2010/11 the youngster caught the eye of German heavyweights and reigning champions Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund

Fresh from lifting the 2010/11 Bundesliga title, Dortmund plucked Gündogan from Nürnberg’s possession, as manager Jürgen Klopp identified the young midfielder as a future star for BVB.

This strategy isn’t new to the German giants; they’ve had paramount success buying youngsters and selling them for profit. More recent examples include Ousmane Dembélé and Christian Pulisic, who earned the Westfalen club a combined profit of over £150m.

Signed for a reported £5m, the German was sold for four times that amount after five years of service. Those five years did see trophies lifted, but bitter disappointment on numerous occasions was also endured.

The highlights of Gündogan’s Dortmund tenure will certainly include winning the double in his first season. Lifting the Bundesliga title as well as being victorious in the DFB Pokal was the ideal first season with the colossus club, however, that was the peak when it comes to major honours.

Despite being just 21, the midfielder went on to make 36 appearances in all competitions for his new side, scoring and assisting on four occasions respectively.

In the remaining four years, Gündogan made 121 appearances and registered 15 goals and 20 assists, often playing in more deep roles compared to the offensive positions he’s been taking up this term under Pep Guardiola.

Injuries didn’t help, with the aforementioned back problem suffered in 2013 ruling him out of virtually the entire 2013/14 campaign as well as the 2014 World Cup.

The German may argue that his highlight as a Borussia Dortmund player was scoring the equalising penalty in the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley against Bayern Munich; he’d undoubtedly claim that if Dortmund had gone on to win the tournament.

Having lost at home in the 2012 final to Chelsea, Bayern Munich weren’t going to let another chance of being crowned Champions of Europe slip out of their grasp as they narrowly beat Dortmund 2-1 to claim the Champions League title.

A hefty blow of course, but significantly more painful for Gündogan and his colleagues given that their Klassiker rivals had also beaten them to both the Bundesliga title and the DFB Pokal that very season.

After a disappointing 2014/15 campaign for the club which concluded in a disastrous seventh-place finish and manager Jürgen Klopp’s resignation, Gündogan spent another campaign playing in Germany before the opportunity to leave the country behind for a venture in England with Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City 

When major honours are concerned, Gündogan’s Manchester City career has eclipsed his Dortmund tenure. Two Premier League titles, three EFL Cups and an FA Cup have all been achieved by the current Premier League leaders since the midfielder arrived in North-West England.

Granted, his first campaign didn’t go to plan on a personal note and on the whole for the club, requiring a whopping 5-0 final-day victory at Watford to secure Champions League qualification after Chelsea had romped to the league title.

Guardiola’s side were also unsuccessful in the other three competitions that they took part in, meaning the Spaniard’s debut season in England concluded with zero trophies.

The midfielder’s injury struggles prolonged in his maiden campaign as a City player. Having to wait until mid-September to make his debut in a Champions League tie, ironically against German opposition in Borussia Mönchengladbach, Gundogan made a decent start to life at The Etihad.

Missing just 20 minutes of their six group stage matches, City fans instantly warmed to the midfielder with his performances in the Champions League, particularly in the 3-1 home win over Barcelona in which he scored twice.

The summer signing also racked up a handful of Premier League appearances but, ultimately, his season was cruelly cut short before January when a ruptured cruciate ligament ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign.

2017/18 and 2018/19 brought plenty more success with the club winning the Premier League title in both campaigns, recording a record 100 points in the former. Two League Cups and the FA Cup in 2019 also followed as the German was able to keep himself fit, racking up 98 appearances in all competitions across the two campaigns.

Last season, City were able to add a third consecutive League Cup to their trophy cabinet, however, the league title and Champions League were beyond their grasp.

On a personal note, Gündogan had a fair share of starts and didn’t miss a single minute of City’s Champions League ties before a heart-wrenching exit at the quarter-final stage to Olympique Lyon.

Up until this season, the midfielder has been deployed on regular occurrences in a central, if not a deep-lying role; goal contributions haven’t been his strength. However, venturing further forward up the pitch has reaped its rewards for both club and player.

Winning the January Premier League Player of the Month award was no fluke, in fact, it was arguably one of the easiest decisions for some time. Since mid-December, the German is Manchester City’s top scorer in the Premier League, with 11 goals to his name, over double his tally in all competitions last season in 50 appearances.

Recent braces against Liverpool and Tottenham have been memorable, particularly with the midfielder missing a penalty at Anfield before scoring twice in the second-half.

The 30-year-old has been the pinnacle of City’s remarkable upturn in form. Their 11 consecutive wins in the Premier League have almost single-handedly blown what looked to be a mouth-watering title race out of question, despite a record nine different leaders across the course of the campaign so far.

Kevin De Bruyne’s absence since January has hardly been noticed with Gündogan in such strong goal scoring form. The midfielder has been a delight to watch this season and, if his current form is sustainable, will have a strong shout of winning PFA Player of the Season.

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