Ilkay Gundogan points to “expiry dates” reflecting on Kevin De Bruyne’s Manchester City exit | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan has stressed that all players have their “expiry dates” while discussing Kevin De Bruyne’s imminent exit from the Etihad Stadium.

The German midfielder is understood to have automatically triggered a 12-month extension in his one-year agreement with Manchester City, signed when he re-joined the club towards the end of the last summer transfer window.

Despite the short-term deal upon arriving on a free transfer from FC Barcelona, a further year added to his contract was agreed at the time providing the veteran midfielder registered a set number of appearances under Pep Guardiola during the season.

Since then, Gundogan has been called-upon far more often than anyone would have expected, in large part due to the injury crisis that struck Manchester City throughout the campaign, as he finished the season with 50 appearances across all competitions.

As such, despite the feeling in some quarters being that Etihad Stadium bosses would be looking to replace various names within the squad – particularly those of an ageing profile – Gundogan’s position appears to be safe for another season.

Speaking to reporters after Manchester City’s crucial 0-2 win over Fulham on Sunday afternoon, Ilkay Gundogan admitted the difficulty of seeing Kevin De Bruyne leave the club, but stressed that such times come for all players.

“It’s obviously not easy to take, not something you want to get used to,” Gundogan said from Craven Cottage, as per the Manchester Evening News’ Joe Bray.

The German midfielder continued, “To come back after a few days not to see him there any more. But it’s football, we all have our expiry dates.

“You need to look forward, do what’s best for ourselves and in difficult circumstances.”

Aside from Kevin De Bruyne, a number of other Manchester City players are expected to find their way out of the exit door over the course of the coming weeks, including veteran full-back Kyle Walker.

At present, it remains unknown as to whether AC Milan – who had the England international on a short-term loan deal – will choose to make their temporary agreement into a permanent one, holding a €5 million option to buy on the player.

Manchester City are already eyeing replacements for arguably the Premier League’s greatest-ever right-back, with a keen interest in Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento – believed to be their number one choice for the role.