Ilkay Gundogan Would Be a Superb First Signing for Guardiola at Manchester City

Pep Guardiola is making his plans to transform Manchester City already. Earlier this week, as reported by David Anderson in the Mirror, he was pictured in Amsterdam meeting City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain. It seems fairly obvious what their discussions were centred around.

Also spotted was Ilhay Gundogan, uncle and agent of Ilkay Gundogan, the much-coveted Borussia Dortmund midfielder. According to Jamie Jackson, writing in the Guardian, the Germany international has 17 months left on his contract, which also contains a £23 million buyout clause.

Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Could there be a better first signing from Guardiola’s perspective? If the buyout clause exists, it’s hardly a deal that will break the bank, yet City would be getting one of the most highly regarded midfield players in the game. 

It feels almost too good to be true, which is probably why Guardiola is risking the wrath of Bayern Munich fans by meeting up with the 25-year-old’s agent in order to steal a march on next season’s rivals.

It would be a significant step towards implementing the Guardiola style of play at City. Possession is key in the eyes of the former Barcelona man. Players have to want the ball, cherish it, with losing it seen as a sin. Gundogan, a technically sound player, is a pass master.

This season in the Bundesliga, no player has completed more passes. He has registered 1,935. Xabi Alonso, the player with the next highest number, has made 1,846. Gundogan would be a vital first step in implementing a new possession-based style at the Etihad Stadium.

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In a shock twist, Guardiola is interested in a player who's made the most passes in the Bundesliga this season #mcfc pic.twitter.com/wupwDTkums

— Sam Lee (@Sammy_Goal) March 9, 2016"

Guardiola’s love of midfielders is clear. They are key to winning the game in style. He likes them to contribute to both attack and defence, be hard-working and tactically aware, while at the same time being able to produce moments of quality on the ball.

Gundogan brings creative ability, energy and dynamism. He will harry and scurry, press high and hard, and force errors from the opposition. And when he gets the ball, he can inflict damage.

There have been suggestions Gundogan is injury prone, but a closer look at his record suggests that’s a misconception. According to Transfermarket.co.uk, he missed over a year with a compressed spine—88 matches in total—but since his return in 2014, he’s missed very few games due to injury. This season, he's played 36 matches for club and country.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Guardiola is likely to be given a significant transfer war chest to shape the squad, to take the best aspects of what current manager Manuel Pellegrini leaves behind and add his own sparkle.

There’s plenty of quality he’ll be given to work with, but there’s also plenty of improvement to be made. Those in the City boardroom feel that he is the man to take the club to the next level.

Gundogan, it seems, will be one of the first through the door, and it would be an exceptional start to what will be a busy and important summer transfer window for the club.

City have everything in place to become one of the biggest and most successful clubs in Europe. They now have a manager coming in to match their ambitions, and if Gundogan is anything to go by, their squad is set to vastly improve.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.