Ilkay Gundogan is regarded by Joao Palhinha as one of the two hardest midfielders he has faced in the Premier League.
The Portugal international, who signed with Fulham in the summer of 2022, has faced many of the best midfielders in England.
The 28-year-old, who recently declared Rodri to be the greatest defensive midfielder in the world, appears to have a special fondness for City players who play in the middle of the park.
Ilkay Gundogan is one of the two hardest midfielders Joao Palhinha has faced in the Premier League.
Ilkay Gundogan started both of Fulham’s games against the Sky Blues last season, as the latter team defeated the former 2-1 at Craven Cottage and the Etihad Stadium.
In both games, the German captain was as important as ever, using his left-sided attacking midfield role against the Cottagers to pull the strings for Manchester City.
Joao Palhinha named Kevin De Bruyne as the toughest midfielder he has faced in the Premier League after being asked about Ilkay Gundogan.
“I’ll probably respond with [llkay] Gundogan. Kevin De Bruyne Gundogan. They seem to be my two options for answering this issue. It’s difficult for me to pick only one because I played against so many excellent players, but I think I’ll go with these two,” he stated in a Sky Sports interview.
This season, Ilkay Gundogan would have been fantastic for Manchester City.
Joao Palhinha went up against one of the best midfielders in Europe last season, Ilkay Gundogan, who led Manchester City to a record triple, so it’s understandable that he struggled.
Even though Gundogan turned 33 in October of last year, he has proven at Barcelona that he is still among the top players in the world.
So far, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes have not demonstrated their ability to eventually succeed the Manchester City icon Phil Foden.
If Gundogan had stayed at City, he and Foden would have probably forged a world-class partnership right there in the middle of the park.
While Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne would have carried on controlling the game as they did in the previous season upon De Bruyne’s injury return.
