Manchester City are to open talks with Ilkay Gundogan over a new deal.
The German ace, 31, has only 15 months left on his current contract and is attracting interest from a number of clubs on the continent, including Barcelona.
That makes securing his services beyond June 2023 a priority for the Premier League champions.
Gundogan became Pep Guardiola’s first signing at the Etihad in 2016 when completing a £21million switch from Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund.
Since then he has proved integral to City’s glory-filled run under the Spanish coach. So far, Gundogan has won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and four League Cups
And he is set to add to that significant haul of silverware this season as City remain on course for the treble.
Gundogan, capped 54 times by Germany, is still deemed a vital cog in the set-up and Guardiola has given his seal of approval for the club to tie him down longer.
Although not always an automatic starter in City’s star-studded engine room these days, he has still made 28 appearances in all competitions this term and scored five times in the league.
City are expected to offer Gundogan an additional 12 months to the four-year deal he penned in 2019.
And that will keep the former FC Nurnburg man on his current £140,000-a-week salary.
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