Gundogan's experience may help smoothen Man City transition
With Kevin de Bruyne's exit at the end of the season now confirmed, Manchester City's anticipated squad rebuild is firmly under way.But should the club be wary of just how many of their ageing or more experienced players they should be actively looking to release over the course of the coming months? The answer is a simple "yes".The upcoming summer transfer window is widely believed to be the club's busiest since the second such market after Pep Guardiola's arrival at Etihad Stadium in 2016, when he looked to bring in the necessary number of players to execute his vision to perfection, having navigated a debut season with veterans post-Manuel Pellegrini.A period of such transition is likely to be overseen once again this time around, but given City's position at the summit of European football in comparison to their status in 2017, the nature of the rebuild will likely need to be more meticulous in order to preserve their style of play and beliefs instilled over the past few seasons at the very highest level.As part of that transition will need to be careful alterations in the market; bringing in new energy, talents for the future, ready-made superstars, but perhaps most importantly, retaining experience within the squad.That brings us to Ilkay Gundogan; a player who knows Manchester City better than most and an experienced professional who certainly knows exactly what Guardiola wants from his side.After a season of mixed performances from the returning 34-year-old, some were left disgruntled by the automatic extension of his contract by a further 12 months in recent weeks, confirmed by Guardiola on Sunday.But it could be the experience of the German midfielder that smoothens out the transitional phase from one of the greatest footballing sides in the history of the game, into a new era looking to replicate and maintain some of that success into the next two seasons of Guardiola's contract.Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external
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