Barcelona eyeing free transfer for Man City star in 2023

Karan Tejwani

• 29 Oct 2022 18:15 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona are in the market for a few free transfers next summer and could be looking for a move for Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan.

The Blaugrana are still in financial disarray and are still focusing on getting players without having to pay a transfer fee and Gundogan has emerged as one of their targets.

Last season, they signed Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen in such deals and will continue to do so this summer, especially after their Champions League exit caused a financial blow.

READ: Guardiola's third favour to Arteta to solve Arsenal's midfield problem

Now, Gundogan is one of their targets, especially as they’re looking to improve in the midfield areas in future transfer windows.

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Gundogan on Barcelona's radar

Sergio Busquets is set to depart the club at the end of the season as his contract is set to run out, ending a long and successful tenure at the Camp Nou.

They have had a number of midfielders on their radar since including Wolves’ Ruben Neves, the Chelsea duo of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante and others.

READ: Kante the favourite to replace Busquets at Barcelona

Additionally, they have also been trying Frenkie de Jong in the pivot, with an indication that they may refuse to buy anyone at all and have him play there.

Now, Manchester City star Gundogan has emerged as one of the targets, according to journalist Adrian Sanchez, who says many in the Barcelona staff are huge admirers of the German.

The experienced German’s contract with Manchester City will expire at the end of the season and there hasn’t been much talk of a renewal as of late.

There have been talks between the club and the player’s representatives, but no firm agreement has been reached and a renewal isn’t set in stone just yet.

With competition for places in the City team rife, Gundogan’s involvement is likely to decrease gradually, which could force the German to look at options elsewhere.