Ilkay Gundogan has revealed that Jurgen Klopp encouraged him to move to the Premier League before the midfielder signed for Manchester City.
Gundogan was City’s first transfer of the summer, which means the 25-year-old was the first recruit of the Pep Guardiola era at the Etihad.
The German worked with current Liverpool boss Klopp for four years at Borussia Dortmund and the midfielder has confirmed that he discussed moving to the English game with his old manager.
Gundogan told Sport360: “Of course I talked to Klopp. I asked if I would fit in the Premier League and he said ‘definitely, definitely yes’. He wishes me the best and me also for him.
“The Premier League is a really, really big competition. When I was in Germany I followed the games and it was always like the biggest league in Europe and it’s proving now more and more like this when you see which coaches are now joining the Premier League and which players.”
The player featured in 25 Bundesliga matches last season for Dortmund, scoring one goal and helping the side to a second place finish in the league.
The midfielder made the transfer despite suffering from a dislocated kneecap and should return to training next month, although he will miss the start of the season with the set-back.
Gundogan isn’t the only major talent to depart Dortmund this summer, with Mats Hummels making the move to Bayern Munich and Henrikh Mkhitaryan expected to complete a transfer to Manchester United in the coming days.
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