Pep Guardiola is on the brink of reuniting with his first transfer as Manchester City boss as Ilkay Gundogan inches closer to a sensational return to the Etihad.
Gundogan left City to join Barcelona last summer but due to the Spanish giants’ need to trim the wage bill and squad, they will allow the German to re-join City for free.
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The decision to swoop for Gundogan was green-lit by Guardiola, which perhaps was not a major surprise given the 33-year-old was his first signing after joining City in 2016.
Guardiola signed 11 players in the summer of 2016 for a total of £184million, but only six of them went on to feature for City.
So, who were those players, how much were they signed for and where are they now?
Ilkay Gundogan (£20m from Borussia Dortmund)
It says plenty about Guardiola’s admiration for Gundogan that he was his first signing as City boss.
Evidently, Guardiola viewed Gundogan as a critical player in order to help implement his notoriously intricate and detailed style of play.
Gundogan went on to make over 300 appearances for City over seven seasons, winning a staggering 14 trophies in that time.
The 33-year-old aged like a fine wine during his first spell at the Etihad as he scored 29 of his 44 Premier League goals in his final three seasons at the club.
With his former skipper now back, it could be just what City needs in their quest for a fifth-straight league title.
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Nolito (£13.8m from Celta Vigo)
Guardiola added some Spanish flavour to his attacking stocks in the form of Nolito, who joined after scoring 39 goals in 100 appearances for Celta Vigo in Spain.
However, the left winger started just nine league games for City and scored four goals, two of which came in their second game of the season against Stoke City.
His goal tally was also matched by his bookings, having received three yellow cards and a red card.
Nolito’s time in Manchester lasted one season as he was moved on to Sevilla in July 2017.
He retired in in June 2023 after final stops at Celta and Ibiza.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko (£1.7m from Ufa)
Zinchenko joined on July 4 from Russian side FC Ufa for just £1.7m and was immediately loaned out to Dutch side PSV Eidnhoven.
But he would quickly become a vital team member for Guardiola and City over the next five seasons, with his versatility proving especially crucial.
Largely featuring at left-back but capable of playing in midfield, Zinchenko racked up 128 appearances across all competitions for City before moving to Arsenal in 2022 for £30m, where he remains.
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Leroy Sane (£37m from Schalke)
Guardiola wasted little time in snapping up Sane from Schalke after the then-teenager lit up the Bundesliga in the 15-16 season with eight goals from 33 appearances.
His debut season was disrupted by injuries but it didn’t take long for Sane to kick into gear afterwards, with the German voted the PGA Young Player of the Year for the 17-18 season.
It wasn’t long before Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich came knocking, as they believed Sane would be an ideal replacement for elder statesmen Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
A return to Germany looked to be on the cards until Sane tore his ACL in the 2019 Community Shield.
City did their best to try to entice him to stay but ultimately Sane only wanted Bayern and eventually got his wish in July 2020 when he moved for an initial £38m.
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John Stones (£47.5m from Everton)
It was a tremendously bold call by Guardiola to make a 22-year-old Stones the world’s second-most expensive defender at the time, but it has since proved to be a shrewd investment.
He is the only player from Guardiola’s first window that has not departed and remains one of City’s key centre-back options despite being sidelined for prolonged periods from 2017 to 2020 with various muscle injuries.
Stones, a centre-back renowned for his ball-playing abilities, showed a capability to play defensive midfield last season as Guardiola preferred a centre-back duo of Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji.
He will be 32 when his contract expires in June 2026, but given Guardiola has kept him around the club for this long, an extension may not be entirely out of the question.
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Claudio Bravo (£15.4m from Barcelona)
Guardiola wasted little time in rocking the boat at the Etihad when he told Joe Hart, City’s goalkeeper of nine years and an England international, he was no longer wanted.
The new City boss did not believe Hart was capable of what was required from a goalkeeper in his system as he brought in Claudio Bravo from Barcelona.
However, Bravo lasted one season as City’s starter between the sticks as Guardiola forked out £34.7m for Ederson the following season.
Bravo remained at the Etihad as the back-up for three seasons before moving on in the summer of 2020 as he joined Real Betis.
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News Summary:
- Only one Man City player has survived Pep Guardiola’s first transfer window as Ilkay Gundogan returns
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.