Ilkay Gundogan has hit nine goals for Manchester City in 2021, including four in his last two appearances, and puts a remarkable purple patch down to added “hunger” and a more advanced role.
What’s been said
“Nathan is back in training on the pitch alone and is closer to coming back,” the City boss told a news conference.
“And Gundo had part of training session - we’ll see tomorrow how the rest of them are.”
What other options does Guardiola have?
Kevin De Bruyne missed four weeks with a hamstring injury but came off the bench as a late substitute in the 3-1 victory over Everton.
“He can play in both positions. I said many times he is so young,” Guardiola added. “Phil just needs time to improve playing inside. When you play as a winger you have to play at one tempo and when you play inside you have to play in another one.
Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has revealed that he would like to one day move into management having worked with some of the best coaches in football
Since the New Year, Gundogan has been lethal in front of goal.
Saturday s double took him up to nine in as many Premier League games, all of which have been won by City as they have shot to the top of the table.
None of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Robert Lewandowski can match Gundogan, who is the top scorer across all of Europe s big-five leagues in 2021.
And were it not for a missed penalty last weekend against Liverpool, he could now already be on double figures before the middle of February.
Gundogan is also gunning for a national best in England s top flight.