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Ilkay Gundogan was one of the unsung heroes in Manchester City's star-studded squad. He kept the midfield ticking over and popped up with the occasional goal and assist, but much of his work went under the radar.

That was until the 2020-21 season when he managed to score 17 goals in all competitions to finish as City's top scorer.

Then on the final day of the 2021-22 season he wrote himself into City folklore by scoring two of the three goals that saw City come from behind to beat Aston Villa and deny Liverpool the league title. And he cemented his status among City fans by scoring both goals in the 2023 FA Cup final win over neighbours United.

So City fans, would you have him back? And if he's available on the cheap, surely he would interest many other top Premier League clubs? After missing out on Martin Zubimendi, it seemed Liverpool were willing to wait until January to bring in a top midfielder, but how about bringing in a ready-made Premier League player such as Gundogan right now?

Let us know your thoughts via the usual channels above.

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Ilkay Gundogan was a key player for Barcelona last season but his situation has been influenced by the club's complicated financial position and the £51m signing of Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig earlier this month.

Like Gundogan, Olmo also didn't feature in Saturday's 2-1 win at Valencia, with coach Hansi Flick saying he is not yet fully fit.

However, that overlooks the fact that Olmo is not actually registered to play for Barca yet.

The Spanish league has cost control rules and Barca are currently in excess of their annual spending cap so they must raise money before being able to register Olmo.

They can do that by generating new revenue streams, selling players or simply getting them off the wage bill.

Gundogan is one of Barca's highest earners having joined on a free transfer from Manchester City last summer so although the German still has another two years on his contract, Barca may be willing to accept a cut-price fee.

Barcelona

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Ilkay Gundogan was a Barcelona regular under Xavi last season and although Xavi was replaced this summer, the new Barca coach is Gundogan's compatriot Hansi Flick, who has previously managed Gundogan with the Germany national team.

On Gundogan's situation, Flick said: "I know him very well. I appreciate the player and the person he is.

"We spoke about everything, but it will stay between us. It's not for you to know. I have a feeling he will stay."

BBC Sounds

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The i's chief football writer, Daniel Storey, has been discussing the possibility of a return to Manchester City for midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

Storey thinks that the move makes logical sense, given his knowledge of Pep Guardiola and his coaching philosophy.

"I think if Gundogan wants back in, one of the reasons he left is there were discussions about how long the contract would be [to stay at City]," Storey said on The Monday Night Club. "It was also about Gundogan remaining a key player at Manchester City.

"He is another year older. He’s done OK at Barcelona but not quite the dream move I think he was hoping for, so if he comes back in now, he’s more prepared to be a fringe player fitting into central midfield, linking the play. We know he’s brilliant at doing it.

"Manchester City are already looking as if they are very good at going through games at 70% and winning 1-0 or 2-0. That kind of fits the Gundogan control.

"He was remarkable at that advanced central midfield role for those last couple of years in Manchester. He needs no time to settle into the system, the club, the country - that’s a clear benefit. It makes complete sense to me."

You can listen back to the latest episode of The Monday Night Club in full here.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Ilkay Gundogan is being allowed to explore options to leave Barcelona this summer.

The 33-year-old has only been at the Catalan club for one full season after opting to leave Manchester City on a free transfer.

Despite being under contract for two more years, Gundogan has been told Barcelona will not stand in his way if he finds a suitable move.

Clubs in England, Spain and Saudi Arabia are reportedly interested in the midfielder, who made 51 appearances across all competitions last season as Barcelona finished second in La Liga.

Gundogan missed the team's season-opening win against Valencia because of concussion on Saturday and announced his retirement from international football, external on Monday after earning 82 caps.

Marc

Troy Deeney
Former Watford striker and BBC pundit

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool): He had a lot of pressure on him coming back from the Euros with England. He's kind of been made the scapegoat but is now back in his comfortable position, playing forward passes.

Obviously his pass to Mohamed Salah which created Liverpool's first goal was great, but I just think playing in a more natural position he seemed a lot happier and more at ease.

Read more here.

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Troy Deeney
Former Watford striker and BBC Pundit

Amadou Onana (Aston Villa): He got a goal on his Aston Villa debut but Onana was all over West Ham's Lucas Paqueta throughout too. The Belgium midfielder broke up the play and did all the horrible things you wouldn't really see, unless you have a bit of a trained eye.

Read more here.

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Andy, Wallingford

Troy Deeney
Former Watford striker and BBC Sport pundit

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal): I worked on Arsenal's win against Wolves for Talksport and Saka was immense. He ran them ragged. They couldn't live with him. He scored a great goal and his assist for Kai Havertz was perfect as well. Great cross, assist and goal.

Read more here.

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Troy Deeney
Former Watford striker

Andy

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So, who from Chelsea's 42 first-team players are in danger of missing out on being registered for their Premier League squad?

Four of the players in Sunday's 20-man matchday squad are under-21s so that means nine of the players who missed out on Sunday can be included in the 25-man Premier League squad.

Eight of those left out are also under-21s so they don't need to worry as they don't count towards the 25-man squad.

Besides Conor Gallagher, the club have been willing to let at least another five players leave, namely Kepa Arrizabalaga, Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell and Romelu Lukaku.

That leaves nine spots for nine players, although three of those are goalkeepers, so the likes of Axel Disasi, Reece James and Raheem Sterling should not come under threat.

However, that is assuming that deals are done for the players named above. If not, then Kepa, Broja, Chalobah, Chilwell and Lukaku could be left in limbo - at least until the January transfer window.

So this is the 20-man matchday squad that Enzo Maresca named for Sunday's game against Manchester City:

Starting XI: Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson.

Substitutes: Filip Jorgensen, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu.

On Chelsea's website,, external their first-team squad features 42 players. These are the ones who missed out on Sunday, with Conor Gallagher set to be replaced by Joao Felix on that squad list.

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Lucas Bergstrom, Marcus Bettinelli, Djordje Petrovic.

Defenders: Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Bashir Humphreys, Reece James.

Midfielders: Tino Anjorin, Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka, Conor Gallagher, Omari Kellyman.

Forwards: Armando Broja, David Fofana, Angelo Gabriel, Tyrique George, Romelu Lukaku, Raheem Sterling, Deivid Washington.

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Although the Joao Felix move means Conor Gallagher can finally leave the club, those deals actually do little to alleviate Chelsea's squad concerns.

It means they still have just as many players and new boss Enzo Maresca has some big decisions to make when he submits his Premier League squad for the 2024-25 season.

Premier League teams can register a maximum of 25 players, although an unlimited number of under-21 players can be registered too. The 25-man squad must also include eight 'homegrown players'.

The squads must be named after the closure of the summer transfer window and can be updated after the January transfer window.

What is a homegrown player?

According to the Premier League website,, external a "homegrown player" means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).

Gallagher was classed as homegrown but Felix is not, so that's another homegrown player Chelsea must fit into their squad.

Who qualifies as under-21 players?

For the 2024-25 season, under-21 players will have been born on or after 1 January 2003.

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Poor old Conor Gallagher, he didn't know if he was coming or going.

The 24-year-old was Chelsea captain for most of last season, in which he made 50 appearances in all competitions. But the departure of manager Mauricio Pochettino in May marked the beginning of the end for the England midfielder.

Although Pochettino's successor was yet to be appointed, the club decided they would be willing to let Gallagher leave this summer if a suitable offer was received.

Gallagher was reluctant to move but he had just a year left on his contract and Chelsea valued him at about £50m. As he is an academy product, that would count as pure profit and help the club satisfy the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

Gallagher reportedly rejected a move to Aston Villa and then the offer of a new contract with Chelsea before starting talks with Atletico Madrid, who agreed a £33m fee with Chelsea.

Gallagher then agreed personal terms and spent five days in Madrid, using Atletico's facilities to stay fit while he waited the move to be completed - even posing for photos at the Metropolitano Stadium.

The move was halted because Chelsea's £34.5m deal to sign Spanish striker Samu Omorodion collapsed over personal terms and Atletico needed to sell a player to generate the cash to pay for Gallagher.

The Blues' interest in Joao Felix meant that the move wasn't dead and progress in that deal has salvaged Gallagher's protracted exit from Stamford Bridge.

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Joao Felix can play anywhere across the frontline, although the fact he has continually switched between attacking positions has perhaps hindered his development.

Felix burst on the scene as an 18-year-old at Benfica, scoring 20 goals in his first season, during which he played mostly as a second striker.

That convinced Atletico Madrid to pay 126m euros (£113m) to sign Felix in 2019, making it the fifth most expensive transfer in history.

He continued to play mostly as a second striker, and occasionally on the wing, but after scoring 34 goals from 131 appearances for Atletico, he joined Chelsea on loan for the second half of the 2022-23 season.

When Felix then joined Barcelona on a season-long loan last summer, he angered Atletico fans by saying it was his "dream" to play for Barca, and when he played for Atletico in a pre-season friendly earlier this month, fans of Diego Simone's side aimed derogatory chants towards to the Portugal forward.

The 24-year-old has admitted, external he "didn't adapt to the ideas of the club and the coach" at Atletico, but that it wasn't for the want of trying. He played in a variety of roles during the 2022-23 season - with Atletico and Chelsea - but played mostly on the left of a front three for Barca last season.

Christopher Nkunku played in that role against Manchester City on Sunday but if Nicolas Jackson continues to struggle up front, Nkunku could be moved into a more central role, where he enjoyed great success with RB Leipzig to earn his move to Chelsea.

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Joao Felix's return to Chelsea looks to be on course but what did he do in his first spell at the Premier League side? Well he signed on loan for the second half of the 2022/23 season for a fee of 11 million euros (£9.7m).

The spell started in the worst way possible for the forward as he was shown a red card on his debut for a challenge on Fulham's Kenny Tete. He was subsequently banned for three games.

Felix started the first game he was available for, a Premier League match against West Ham, and he scored his first Chelsea goal in the same game.

In total Felix made 20 appearances for the Blues and scored four goals.

Aly

Mike

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Norwich forward Abu Kamara has handed in a transfer request.

The 21-year-old is eager to leave Carrow Road before the transfer window shuts next week with Hull and Portsmouth reportedly interested.

Kamara spent last season on loan at Pompey, helping them win the League One title, and scored 10 goals in 52 appearances for John Mousinho's side.

He has scored once in three appearances for the Canaries this season and has a year left on his contract, with the option to extend for a further 12 months.

It is the latest headache for Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper and manager Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Forward Jonathan Rowe declined to play for the Canaries in their opening day 2-0 Championship defeat at Oxford amid bids from Marseille.

They also sold Adam Idah to Celtic for £9.5m this month but not before having to discipline the striker for joining the squad late after he missed the team flight for a pre-season training week in Austria.

Additional reporting by BBC football reporter Alex Howell.

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