With a contract running out in June of next year, Ilkay Gundogan’s future could be decided as early as the upcoming summer.
Back in February, the Manchester City midfielder hinted he could run down his current deal before putting pen to paper to his ‘last big contract’, a decision he said must be ‘well considered’.
While this might sound great in his head, the Premier League club could see it differently, unwilling to keep a player they could sell in the summer, running the risk of letting him go on a free next year.
That’s why, should the opportunity present itself, Manchester City could be willing to sell him, and Inter could be takers.
The Serie A club’s director of football, Piero Ausilio, travelled on Tuesday to watch Tottenham vs Manchester City, and both Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport believe one of his targets was the German international.
Needing a new midfielder in the summer, the Italian side could try and convince the 28-year-old that moving to Milan would be in his best interests, as he’d likely become one of their star players, guaranteed to start every game (fitness allowing).
The issue, however, would be the salary, as we doubt Inter would be able to offer him a considerable increase, if any, on his current wages at the Etihad.
Then again, few clubs outside of the Premier League, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus would.
Gundogan to Inter has been a story in the past, so it’s no surprise to see it reemerge now, as both Manchester City and the midfielder reach an important crossroads in their time together, but it doesn’t appear to be anything beyond, at least for now, a man in charge of transfers watching a football game.
