Dortmund’s Gundogan reportedly set for £21.5m Man Utd switch

Manchester United, 7/2 in the Premier League betting without Chelsea, are set to sign Borussia Dortmund midfield maestro Ilkay Gundogan for £21.5m, according to news reports.

The 24-year-old German has just over one year left on his deal with the Bundesliga outfit, and it looks as if his team prefer to cash in on the player rather than losing him for free in 2016.

Gundogan’s apparent transfer to the Red Devils comes after Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp’s announcement that he is to leave the club at the end of the season.

If the midfielder is to follow his current manager out the door at BVB, it could signal the start of a mass exodus of star players such as Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and Sven Bender.

Hummels in particular has also been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford, and it remains to be seen if the World Cup-winning centre back is to join his current teammate too.

Gundogan joined Dortmund from Nuremberg in 2011, and has since made 123 Bundesliga appearances, scoring 15 goals. He has also won the top flight title and a German Cup during his stay, and was part of the team that played in the 2012/13 Champions League final.

Injuries have plagued the young midfielder, who has had nine caps for Germany to date, though, as he was out for over a year last season due to a back injury.

However, he has since returned to the team, and has featured in 27 games in all competitions this term, scoring three and gaining four assists.

The Gelsenkirchen-born star is seen as a long-term replacement for Michael Carrick, due to his passing ability and position. He is also known to be a tough-tackler with a lot of energy, so may be more in the Roy Keane or Owen Hargreaves mould.

Following a much-improved season for Man Utd, they are currently third in the Premier League with five games to go, under Louis van Gaal, it seems the Dutchman is keen to add recruits early as he was unable to last summer due to World Cup commitments with the Netherlands.

There are also reports that Van Gaal’s compatriot Memphis Depay is to join United at the end of the season, but nothing has been confirmed.

For Gundogan, a move to United would likely mean that he will be playing Champions League football again, as Dortmund look set to miss out this term after a woeful start to the campaign that saw them bottom of the table at Christmas.

If the deal goes through, he will be hoping that his time at Old Trafford is more enjoyable than Shinji Kagawa’s unsuccessful spell, as the Japanese attacker returned to Dortmund after just two seasons.