JURGEN KLOPP’S LIVERPOOL TIPPED TO SIGN ‘THE MOST UNDERRATED WORLD-CLASS’ PLAYER
Robert Earnshaw has backed Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to sign ‘the most underrated world-class’ player Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer from Manchester City this summer.
The 32-year-old’s contract expires this month and former Wales international Earnshaw expects Ilkay Gundogan to head for the exit door, even though ‘Pep Guardiola wants him to stay’, with a number of clubs keen on his talents, as he told The Transfer Show on Sky Sports.
La Liga giants Barcelona are one of those teams, with claims that manager and legendary midfielder Xavi Hernandez has been calling the Manchester City star ‘many times’.
Liverpool are looking for central midfielders this summer, with the club already bringing in Alexis Mac Allister, but it’s clear that new faces are still needed.
Given that Gundogan could sign for any team in the world next month for nothing, then surely it should open the eyes of those on Merseyside, especially Jurgen Klopp, who has previously worked with the technician.
Earnshaw put Liverpool’s name forward as the German’s next possible destination, as well as throwing Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal into the hat, and the cheeky suggestion of Manchester United.
“I think he will probably leave, I think reluctantly,” said Earnshaw. “I think Pep Guardiola wants him to stay. I believe he wants to stay, but that’s the tricky part.
“I think the contract and the time of where he is in his career. You want to stay, but you are kind of feeling like a fresh new challenge.
“He is the most underrated world-class player there is out there. He scores goals. He’s intelligent. He’s creative. He knows in the big moments, he delivers, so he does everything a top, top midfielder does, and for some reason, people still put him under the radar. I think he is unbelievable. If he goes, then somebody is going to get an unbelievable player.
“If I am another football club, then I am thinking ‘Gundogan is my number one target’. If I was Arsenal, Liverpool, or Manchester United even, but I doubt he will go there. What a huge, huge asset he will be.”
Klopp and Gundogan reunion?
There are some calling for Liverpool to sell Thiago Alcantara given his injury issues at the club, if that’s the case, then someone like Gundogan would be a level-up signing.
He would suit Klopp’s system down to a tee and understand what his fellow countryman wants before he could even step foot into the club.
Yes, Gundogan would be joining from Manchester City, but would he improve the Reds? The answer is a yes, without a doubt.