Manchester United are supposedly close to making Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan their first signing of the summer in what would be a superb deal, so here’s five facts Red Devils fans should know about their possible new arrival…
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1) He’s scored in a Champions League final
One that fans will probably remember fairly well – Ilkay Gundogan was on the scoresheet for Borussia Dortmund as they narrowly lost to rivals Bayern Munich in the 2013 Champions League final. The German midfielder stepped up to take a penalty for Jurgen Klopp’s side in the second half, slotting the ball away confidently to make it 1-1 in the second half and to cap a fine midfield display in this classic encounter at Wembley.
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2) Good record vs Bayern Munich
As well as his Champions League final goal against Bayern, Gundogan has a good scoring record against the Bavarian giants, netting his first ever Bundesliga strike for former club Nurnberg against Bayern, and also scoring against them in a 4-2 German Super Cup victory in 2013.
3) Not many Germany caps yet
Despite his success at club level, Gundogan has not quite made a breakthrough for the German national team just yet, appearing only nine times so far and scoring two goals. Injuries have no doubt played their part in this, with the 24-year-old missing last summer’s World Cup triumph in Brazil when he might well have been a starter for Joachim Low’s side.
4) He could’ve played for Turkey
Despite choosing to play for Germany, Gundogan described his international future as one of the hardest decisions of his life, as he could also have played for Turkey due to both his parents being Turkish, though he himself was born in Germany.
5) From a sporting family
Gundogan is from a sporting family and one of his relatives does represent Turkey – Naz Aydemir, a 24-year-old volleyball player for the Turkish national side, who has won a number of big honours in her career so far.