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Ilkay Gündogan was not the obvious or most exciting answer to how Manchester City would replace their midfield talisman David Silva, but after doing that he has now turned into the Citizens’ new Sergio Agüero too.
The versatile Germany international has stepped into Silva’s silky shoes to set the tempo for Pep Guardiola’s side since the Spaniard left last summer. Even more surprisingly, he has also borrowed Agüero’s shooting boots to help fire City to the top of the EPL.
Previously, the 30-year-old had not managed more than six league goals in a single season, either with City or back in the German Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund or Nuremberg.
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But his two goals in Tuesday’s 5-0 thumping win over West Brom mean he has hit seven in his past eight league appearances.
Where have his goals come from?
“I don’t know. To be honest, there is not really a secret,” Gündogan said at full-time. “We try to be a bit flexible [with our positions], especially when we see our centre-backs or holding midfielder building up and if the player has the time and the space to put in the right ball, we try to make movements – which is exactly how we scored our first goal here.
“I just try to be in the right spaces at the right moment. I have played the past few weeks in a bit more offensive role and, if I get the chance close to the opponent’s box, then I try to be there and try to make the right decisions.”
Gündogan’s goal rush has coincided with City’s rise to the summit on the back of seven straight league wins – and 11 in a row in all competitions – scoring 30 goals in the process.
He is not the only reason Guardiola’s side have brushed aside the continuing absence of Agüero, their all-time top scorer, to hit form in such devastating fashion. But he has certainly played a big part with some key contributions – four of his goals have been City’s first of a game.
There have been a variety of finishes too, from the spectacular – like his sumptuous strikes from the edge of the box against the Baggies and Crystal Palace – to proper poacher’s efforts like his close range finish from a Raheem Sterling cut-back against Newcastle.
That goal was an example of how much further forward he is getting these days, in a new advanced role, to have more shots per game than ever before since he arrived at Etihad Stadium for £20 million from Dortmund as Guardiola’s first signing in June 2016.
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He is also making them count.
“Gundo is a guy who has an incredible sense of goal,” Guardiola explained after his side’s stylish win at The Hawthorns.
“It is not just knowing the right time to arrive in the box, it is the right second. This is the most difficult thing – not to arrive one metre before, or one metre later, but at exactly the right time, and Gundo has this sense.
“And it’s not just that, with his finishing too he has this way to control the ball, slow down and take a second to compose himself and see what happens, and be clinical.” – BBC Sport
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