Barcelona midfielder not considering summer exit amid interest from Turkey

Ilkay Gundogan left the treble-winning Manchester City project to fulfil his dream of playing for Barcelona last summer.

The midfielder’s first year at the club may not have gone his way in terms of accolades, but it is safe to say that the German star was one of the team’s best players all season.

Despite operating deeper in midfield than his liking, Gundogan completed the league season with five goals and nine assists to his name.

With Hansi Flick coming in, moreover, the midfielder will only stand to gain next season.

No plans of a sale

Earlier this week, Galatasaray president Dursen Ozbek revealed that he dreamt of Gundogan’s signing to assemble a Champions League-worthy squad in Turkey.

As revealed by Mundo Deportivo, however, Barcelona have no plans of sanctioning the midfielder’s departure.

Gundogan, for his part, does not contemplate a departure from the club despite Galatasaray’s evident interest and is only focused on making a bigger mark in his second season in Catalonia.

After all, he will be managed by a familiar figure in Hansi Flick.

Gundogan not looking to leave. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The emotional debt

The Spanish outlet also reports that Gundogan feels a certain emotional debt towards Flick after how things panned out when they last worked together.

It was the new Barcelona manager who first made Gundogan the captain of the German National Team.

The side’s poor form that followed, however, saw him sacked and the Barcelona star even admitted that he felt responsible for the same.

Now reunited with the manager, Gundogan will aim to set right the equation and make a positive run under Flick’s tutelage.