İlkay Gündoğan Transfer Thread

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http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/17/ilkay...rtmund-amid-manchester-united-links-4266629/?

Manchester United target Ilkay Gundogan says he is open to a move away from Borussia Dortmund – but is yet to decide on his future.
The Germany midfielder, who is rated as one of the best players in European football, has been subject of an offer from United this week.
But amid talk that he has already accepted a switch to Old Trafford, Gundogan says he is open to moving to another club, but is yet to decide on his future.
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David Moyes is keen on signing Gundogan (Picture: Getty)
‘I have not made a final decision on my future yet,’ he told Bild.
‘Dortmund are the first team I am talking to. I will soon make a well-thought decision. But I am keeping my options open at this point.’
United are believed to have made Gundogan their top transfer target, with David Moyes desperate to add to his squad before the close of the transfer window.

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Would be a fantastic signing, but i have to hold my breath to consider if we're even in for him at the moment to be honest. We've had so many semi's over the years & i'm not even thinkin of nippin down the shop for a box of Kleenex...
 
I would like this, but there is no war chest. Im pretty sure we have not had one for years. Gill lied to us all along.
 
He is just using us as leverage for a bigger contract. They all do it these days.
 
David Moyes and Ed Woodward happened.

Probably get a thread ban for that one too now :rolleyes:
 
Red Hand Devil said:
Would be a fantastic signing, but i have to hold my breath to consider if we're even in for him at the moment to be honest. We've had so many semi's over the years & i'm not even thinkin of nippin down the shop for a box of Kleenex...
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Sad to think, 10 years ago we'd all be out getting his name on our shirts by this point. But over that period our transfer dealings have been eroded away to the current present day farce, in which it's just obvious we're not signing him.
 
Is this the new Modric/Sneijder/Hazard/Moura/Alcantara/Fabregas thread?
 
GundogOFF I would say at the moment.

Opinions?
 
Balu said:
I think our squad depth in CM is massively overrated. We lost Tymoshchuk on a free, sold Gustavo and let Can and Kirchhoff go on loan/sold with buyback clause. We play with 3 CMs and have 4 players (Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Kroos and Thiago) for those 3 positions with a few others who could help out, if necessary. We actually need another CM (looks like we signed Rode for next season already) to have more cover. Even with everyone fit, Thiago will play 80% of the games, he was just unlucky that he got injured early in the season and was out for a few months.

The same could be the case at Madrid, depending on Ancelotti's ideas for the team. Right now I'd say Isco is the more likely one to be dropped for the big games with 3 quality CMs playing, so if Gündogan finds his best form at Madrid, he won't have much problems to see more than enough playing time.
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Now that you talk about it this way there's something to it. It's probably down to the sheer quality of these players - they are basically all world class - and our failure to comprehend that some teams actually use 3 midfielders as opposed to 2 in outdated 442 formation like we do. Your squad depth is good though as you have lots of versatile players.
 
Balu said:
The same could be the case at Madrid, depending on Ancelotti's ideas for the team. Right now I'd say Isco is the more likely one to be dropped for the big games with 3 quality CMs playing, so if Gündogan finds his best form at Madrid, he won't have much problems to see more than enough playing time.
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If he finds his best form at Madrid, he would have a future at Madrid, yes. He also has the skills and potential to make it there, but I would be highly sceptical that he could use them to the highest extend.

People see his performances of the last season, which were for the most part brilliant and are of course assured, that he could become a key player for a club of the size of Mardid, but I remember different times:

I remember his first half year at Dortmund after coming from Nürnberg as the replacement of the departed Nuri Sahin. The officials of Dortmund of course tried everything to deny that role to relieve some pressure on him, but despite that he crumbled under it. He peformed miserably at first und had weight problems for a lengthy amount of time. It did not took the German media long to take the first shots at him. Klopp´s reaction was to take him out of the line of fire and even take fights with the Springer press (BILD, WELT, etc.), going as far as throwing reporters out of press conferences. The result of that were catchy headlines like Dortmund being the "shame of German football" for their unsuccessful CL campaign or them painting Klopp as a lunatic on the side line.

Klopp showed great patience and carefully build Gündogan up to be the player he became in the second half of the 11/12 season, something the German openly showed great gratitude for in interviews. His problem in the case of that transfer would be that the BVB is certainly not Real Madrid and the Spanish sports press is of a whole different calibre than the German one. The Dortmund officials have a history of keeping most of the personell discussions behind close doors to create a calm enviroment for the players to develop. Real Madrid is the absolute opposite. They invite the media circus (some might say that they are infact more of a circus than a football club themselves) with open arms, because they strive for the attention. The difference in that aspect was testamented numerous times by Nuri Sahin after his return.

Maybe my scepsis is unfounded and that Gündogan has mentally grown enough to withstand that even if he would find himself in a similar situation than in 2011 at Dortmund, but I personally can see him easily follow in the footsteps of the before mentioned Nuri Sahin. In difference to Gündogan, Sahin came to Madrid on the back of a great season, being the mastermind of the 10/11 squad of Dortmund and the best player of the Bundesliga in that season. He had some bad luck with injuries and about a handful of chances before he was written off and offloaded faster than he could see.

If Gündogan thinks that he has outgrown Dortmund at the age of 23 eventhough he has a rotten season so far and the length of his injury gets longer and longer, then let him try his luck. He would certainly not be the first Dortmund player, who could never recapture their top form outside of Klopp´s system.
 
@Sphaero
I could remember it wrong, but didn't Gündogan finish school during the first half of that season and struggled to make both work at the same time? He also was played in a more defensive position and struggled to adjust to the workrate. The way he instantly performed very well in the nationalteam is a great sign for me that he can make it everywhere. Sahin in comparison completely failed to perform for the nationalteam as well, even though his talent should have made him a certain starter instantly.


Sarni said:
Now that you talk about it this way there's something to it. It's probably down to the sheer quality of these players - they are basically all world class - and our failure to comprehend that some teams actually use 3 midfielders as opposed to 2 in outdated 442 formation like we do. Your squad depth is good though as you have lots of versatile players.
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It all looked completely insane, when we signed Thiago, but since then 3 CMs left, 1 CM/Centerback left and 1 striker left (Gomez), which also opened up playing time for some of the attacking players. Pretty sure Guardiola and Sammer already knew that when we signed him and could reassure him that he will play significantly more than he did at Barca. Of course, none of us knew all that so it looked stupid at first from his point of view.
 
Surely it'd be a good thing for us if Gundogan needs a calm, stable and supportive environment to flourish? That's probably the one stone cold positive we can offer that Madrid can't.
 
Balu said:
@Sphaero
I could remember it wrong, but didn't Gündogan finish school during the first half of that season and struggled to make both work at the same time? He also was played in a more defensive position and struggled to adjust to the workrate. The way he instantly performed very well in the nationalteam is a great sign for me that he can make it everywhere. Sahin in comparison completely failed to perform for the nationalteam as well, even though his talent should have made him a certain starter instantly.

It all looked completely insane, when we signed Thiago, but since then 3 CMs left, 1 CM/Centerback left and 1 striker left (Gomez), which also opened up playing time for some of the attacking players. Pretty sure Guardiola and Sammer already knew that when we signed him and could reassure him that he will play significantly more than he did at Barca. Of course, none of us knew all that so it looked stupid at first from his point of view.
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You have a great balance to your team whereby you have a few players who could play a variety of different roles and a creative manager who is capable of adapting a player to a new role (like he did with Lahm). Lewandowski will add another dimension to the team too, I think, and you'll probably add a couple more players in the Summer too. Money will be there as your net spend last year wasn't significant as Götze and Thiago transfers were largely offset by departures and so far you've only secured two free transfers for July so a big transfer isn't out of question - I cannot see the need for it though, you are sorted all over the pitch.
 
sullydnl said:
Surely it'd be a good thing for us if Gundogan needs a calm, stable and supportive environment to flourish? That's probably the one stone cold positive we can offer that Madrid can't.
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Not at the minute to be fair, we're 7th in the league, unlikely to qualify for CL and our manager might not be there next season if we fail. Some of our important players will be gone in 1-2 years too and we'll have to rebuild the squad.
 
Sarni said:
Not at the minute to be fair, we're 7th in the league, unlikely to qualify for CL and our manager might not be there next season if we fail. Some of our important players will be gone in 1-2 years too and we'll have to rebuild the squad.
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I still think the whole way the club goes about things makes it pretty stable. The manager has been repeatedly backed for the long term, and even dodgy players like Anderson (and some would say Nani) get to hang around for 7 years.
It's not like other clubs are out there who are guaranteed to have the same manager in a years time anyway.
 
Balu said:
@Sphaero
I could remember it wrong, but didn't Gündogan finish school during the first half of that season and struggled to make both work at the same time? He also was played in a more defensive position and struggled to adjust to the workrate. The way he instantly performed very well in the nationalteam is a great sign for me that he can make it everywhere. Sahin in comparison completely failed to perform for the nationalteam as well, even though his talent should have made him a certain starter instantly.
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The bold: Nope. Finished his school in Spring 2011 before transfering in the Summer.

The comparision in terms of the national teams is also not really a fair one. Sahin did not have the benefit of having half a dozen of his club team mates playing with him there and the expectations of Sahin were way higher than for Gündogan, who also really got chances at the nationalteam after having his big break for Dortmund.

Like I said: I don´t doubt his abilities or skills, but his mentality and confidence. The long injury right now won´t make it any easier aswell.
 
A good rule of thumb for judging if a transfer to the modern Man United is plausible is to consider:

Is there any possibility that one of the following clubs are interested in them?

Bayern
Barca
Real
City
Chelski
PSG

If the answer is 'yes', move on to a new thread.
 
KingMinger22 said:
A good rule of thumb for judging if a transfer to the modern Man United is plausible is to consider:

Is there any possibility that one of the following clubs are interested in them?

Bayern
Barca
Real
City
Chelski
PSG

If the answer is 'yes', move on to a new thread.
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Apart from RVP who won us the league.
 
Sarni said:
Now that you talk about it this way there's something to it. It's probably down to the sheer quality of these players - they are basically all world class - and our failure to comprehend that some teams actually use 3 midfielders as opposed to 2 in outdated 442 formation like we do. Your squad depth is good though as you have lots of versatile players.
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No it was more that when he signed they had far more midfielders in their squad. They've since lessened that number but people haven't accounted for it. He'll get less games that he would here but still plenty.
 
KingMinger22 said:
A good rule of thumb for judging if a transfer to the modern Man United is plausible is to consider:

Is there any possibility that one of the following clubs are interested in them?

Bayern
Barca
Real
City
Chelski
PSG

If the answer is 'yes', move on to a new thread.
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Juventus and Spurs too. And don't forget Southampton, they got Clyne over us.
 
Red Shorts said:
Yeah, what's the point of us considering any good players anymore? We're out of our minds. Urgh
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When did I say we shouldn't consider good players? We should always look for the best.

I'm just saying there is no realistic chance of this happening at the moment.
 
Eric'sCollar said:
When did I say we shouldn't consider good players? We should always look for the best.

I'm just saying there is no realistic chance of this happening at the moment.
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No signings look likely in this window. People can discuss this as being realistic for the summer though, no issue in that. Coentrao looked dead cert to come in January, but even that looks unlikely now.
 
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