Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes that the Citizens have "nothing to lose" if they keep hold of Ilkay Gundogan for at least one more season.
Since returning to the Etihad Stadium last summer following a one-year stint at Barcelona, Gundogan has played 43 times for Man City across all competitions, far more than he and many others would have expected.
Gundogan's most recent outing - a start in the 5-2 comeback victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League - was enough to trigger a clause to extend his contract by a further 12 months, according to manager Pep Guardiola.
Despite this, Guardiola has admitted that he cannot be sure whether the 34-year-old will remain at the club next season amid reports of a possible move to Turkey where his parents are from.
It was recently reported that Gundogan is one first-team player that Guardiola 'does not consider a priority' in his planning for next season and the midfielder's boyhood club Galatasaray are interested in his services.
"He definitely has one more year on his contract," Guardiola told reporters. "What's going to happen, I don't know.
"The Gundo from Leicester, the Gundo from Bournemouth and the Gundo from today is the Gundo I remember when we won the treble and quadruple.
"He's an important player, his activity, space, defensive intelligence, arrives. Since Gundo has been with us, he has helped us massively, but as a team we cannot help him individually because it's not about you, you, you.
"Everyone was down because the team was not playing good. When the team plays good, the individuals rise. Without that - modern football you cannot do it."
Will Man City keep Gundogan for 2025-26 season?
Sharing his thoughts on Gundogan's return to Man City and whether he should stay at the club beyond this season, McInerney told Sports Mole: "Gundogan started really poorly. I think it's fair to say he had a bit of a disaster in the first few months.
"I always felt really sorry for him. I think he was never meant to come in and just play every single week, given his age and given the expectations of his role. I think he was meant to be the guy who played every second and third game, sits alongside Rodri every now and then, not in place of Rodri.
"But he came in and with no Rodri and an ageing [Kevin] De Bruyne with injuries, there was a lot of creative and defensive [responsibility] that he had to pick up and he just wasn't ready for it.
"A year in La Liga where he'd be the first to admit the pace was a lot slower. He came back and Guardiola said how Gundogan had remarked to him just how much faster everything is in the Premier League these days compared to just 18 months ago when he left Manchester City, and I do feel it took him by surprise."
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'I understand the logic of keeping Gundogan'
"I don't think it's a coincidence that since February 1st (after City signed four new players) Gundogan's been good," McInerney added. "He looks sharper, he looks more confident.
"I think there's an element of him catching up as well to the pace of the Premier League finally, but that's peak Gundogan for what it's worth. If you follow Gundogan throughout his career, he's always been the second-half-of-the-season guy.
"I do think there's an argument to suggest that he may still move on, but Guardiola was saying after the Palace game that one of the most important things is availability and if you're not available, if you're injured, we can't rely on you, then you're going to have to move on.
"When you run that through the idea of Gundogan, you realise Gundogan is never injured really. He's constantly available. He's not going to be a starter every single week, but [he has] experience and leadership.
"If Guardiola truly does want a bigger squad next season... if you can get this guy who can play multiple positions and he can give you a seven out of 10 most weeks and will obviously be at a higher level with younger players around him than he has this season, I think you can keep him.
"I understand the logic of keeping him. I think there's nothing to lose in keeping Gundogan around for another year as part of a squad, not necessarily part of the first 11."
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
