Breaking News: The club of Manchester City has another player who is following in the footsteps of Ilkay Gundogan

Despite the fact that Pep Guardiola was immediately aware of Ilkay Gundogan’s worth, it took some time for Manchester City supporters to come around to the idea.

It was not helpful that Guardiola insisted on including Gundogan in his lineup whenever he was available; there was the infamous lineup for the Champions League quarter-final match at Anfield in 2018, the infamous lineup for the Champions League final match in 2021, and plenty of howling between at a midfield partnership with Rodri that was considered to be too slow to be effective. It was a considerable amount of time before Gundogan’s abilities were brought to light.

This was due, in part, to the fact that there were already other members of the squad. It was widely acknowledged that Gundogan was a talented football player; yet, it was not believed that he possessed the abilities that Fernandinho, David Silva, or Kevin De Bruyne did when they were playing in a world-class midfield. His quest to become the captain that led City to the win of the Treble was a lengthy one, and every time he played, he was judged against those teammates just as much as he was judged with them.

As a matter of course, Gundogan’s influence became so significant that his departure to Barcelona in the summer has resulted in a hole that has not been filled ever since. After the draw with Liverpool, Guardiola expressed his regret that a player with the qualities of Gundogan or De Bruyne could have changed a single point into three points with their abilities.