“We’ll definitely bounce back” – Manchester City will challenge Liverpool for Premier League title next season warns midfielder | OneFootball

Ilkay Gundogan has stressed his own personal confidence that Manchester City will be back to challenging for the Premier League crown as soon as next season.

Pep Guardiola and his players concluded the recent campaign in third position following two late victories at home to Bournemouth and away to Fulham, ensuring their place in the UEFA Champions League for next season.

Manchester City supporters may have held significant concerns over the future of the club at the summit of European football come the turn of the year, after a dismal run of results in November and December saw the side hurtling towards a mid-table finish.

However, following a fresh run of recruitment during the January transfer window and a mass of injury and fitness problems easing off, Guardiola was able to field a side capable to re-finding their form to some extent and enjoy a much brighter closing few months.

Speaking to reporters after Manchester City’s vital 0-2 win over Fulham on the final day of the Premier League season, Ilkay Gundogan has warned the rest of the division that he and his teammates will be back to their competitive best from August.

“At the end of the season the feeling is positive in the way we’ve performed in the last two months since the last international break,” the 34-year-old told reporters from Craven Cottage, as per the Manchester Evening News’ Joe Bray.

“If we were able to perform in that way throughout the whole season it would be a completely different outcome for us in the end,” he added.

“That’s the target for next year, to learn from all the mistakes in the campaign, to take that last couple of months as the standard and expectation going into the Club World Cup and the next Premier League season.

“I’m very confident that if we’re able to do that, we’ll definitely bounce back and be in competition for the Premier League title. These are the standards that this team, this club has set over the last few years, the last decade.

“Unfortunately nothing less than that is enough in a very competitive Premier League.”

While Manchester City officials are currently undergoing an assessment of Pep Guardiola’s playing squad in the lead up to the summer transfer window, Ilkay Gundogan is one name that is likely to remain in place despite his age.

The German midfielder re-joined the club on an initial one-year contract from FC Barcelona last summer, featuring an automatic extension by 12 months should he fulfil a certain number of appearances for the club – which has since been triggered after 50 outings last season.