Manchester United target January move for Gundogan

Ilkay Gundogan

Manchester United are reportedly poised to make a January move for Borussia Dortmund star Ilkay Gundogan, according to Jack Wilson of the Daily Star.

Wilson says United are on “red alert” to lure the former Arsenal target to Old Trafford following his current refusal to extend his current contract which expires in the summer of 2015. Speaking about the situation last month, Gundogan said:

“I am not going to make statements on the contents of those talks. Everyone has to be patient about it, just like I have to be patient in terms of my current injury.”

The German international is currently sidelined with a back injuring sustained playing for the national team. It’s meant he has played just one Bundesliga game all season – and reports suggest he may be out of action until January.

Wilson also states that the midfielder had been lined up by Arsenal before they snapped up his compatriot Mesut Ozil on deadline day for a club record transfer fee. He goes on to write how Gundogan has plenty of admirers at the Old Trafford club, who wanted him back in 2011. The former Nurnberg man declared United were “his dream club” at the time, which surely provides the new Manchester United manager David Moyes with an extra incentive to make him a primary transfer target.

United have certainly been missing a creative influence in the heart of midfield since the days of Paul Scholes. Tom Cleverley and Anderson are the only current creative options to partner and complement Michael Carrick. Marouane Fellaini was brought on deadline day, but his favoured role is as a defensive midfielder and now the big Belgian is out with a wrist injury. As yet this season, none of the options have given United blend of strength, creativity and domination in midfield that Moyes is after.

There is no doubt, this is the same squad that won the Premier League title with 11 points last season, but with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool strengthening in the summer, it’s certainly not championship winning material anymore. Clearly there is lack of creativity in the middle of the park and that’s reflected by the fact that Patrice Evra is currently United’s most creative player with 11 chances. That perfectly explains why Moyes targeted the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas and Ander Herrera in the summer, and perhaps Gundogan may just be the answer to all the problems.

Having played such an integral part in helping Dortmund win the Bundelisga title in 2011-12 and then reaching the Champions League final last year, featuring as one of his side’s main passers, Gundogan is certainly an option to improve the Manchester United midfield. He is athletic, a good dribbler and also reads the game well, adding extra security to the back four, but the main thing is his passing and creativity. He often plays an important part in the goal scored by his team, by supplying the pass to the player who goes on to produce the assist for the goal.

There is no doubt that Gundogan would be a great coup for the club and a major success at Old Trafford if they do sign him in January or in the summer, and may well just be the man to get the best out Shinji Kagawa, who has been struggling since his move to United last summer, with whom he had a great understanding and friendship at Dortmund.