It’s the fifth NextGoalWinner Player of the Month award and the first of 2021, and this one takes the award mere miles from Old Trafford and the grasp of Bruno Fernandes, over to arch rivals Manchester City and the rejuvenated German midfielder, Ilkay Gündogan.

This first time winner has shown some serious form in the opening month of the year in the midst of injury issues to some big players. Gündogan has genuinely stepped up for Peps side this month and played a massive role as the blues went on a winning tear this month, including a big league win over Chelsea and a fantastic cup result over rivals Manchester United. With 5 goals and 1 assist from the midfielder, his contributions were crucial in maintaining this run and showing the true skill he possesses.

So, as always, let us hopefully explain well enough why we have chosen Ilkay as this months winner, and let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you agree or disagree and any debate you have over our choice.

The Stats

In January and this jam packed football schedule, Ilkay Gündogan was involved in a game every 3.875 days, and was involved in all bar one of City’s 9 games in the calendar month. In his time, he doubled his goal tally for the season from 5 to 10 after 5 goals, and added his 1st assist of the season to boot.

Although he didn’t claim a single player of the match award in this time (through the WhoScored? rating system), he maintained an incredible 7.9/10 rating through each game, and never dropped below 7.1 in his 8 appearances. A proper solid month and a run of games which will hopefully ensure his place in the team for the coming month and the return of Champions League football.

Match By Match

January 3rd: Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City – In City’s opener they were truly on fire against an out of sorts Chelsea side who couldn’t get a foot-hold in the game from the outset. Inside the first 20 minutes, Ilkay Gündogan put the side 1-0 up and it went from there in the first half which saw the Manchester side heading in 3-0 leaders at the break. Gündogan was in great form in this one, earning a 8.29/10 rating for his role in the dominant victory.

January 6th: Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City – In their League Cup semi-final, City showed dominance once again as they went down the road to their neighbours and showed the gulf in class as they eased into the delayed final of the tournament which they have made their own in the past decade. Gündogan was admittedly quiet in this one, with no goal contribution or shot to his name. However, it was a clear message of the changing tide of Manchester in the sheer dominance and attacking prowess shown by City in this one which all players contributed towards.

January 13th: Manchester City 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion – In the following league game, after not being involved in the FA Cup match against Birmingham City, Ilkay Gündogan was back in the squad and doing his bit as his side fought for a 1-0 victory against a resolute Brighton side. In this one, Gündogan again wasn’t in the goals but was still on form, maintaining a pass accuracy of 90% and having around 80 touches of the ball in what was a possession heavy game.

January 17th: Manchester City 4-0 Crystal Palace – After having a tough victory over Brighton, City let loose on Palace as they got what’s becoming just a normal afternoon for Peps side. Winning 4-0 in this one, Ilkay Gündogan was involved in the goals as he nabbed his second of the season to get the second just into the second half. With 4 shots (1 on target) and a 95.5% pass accuracy, Gündogan was on form in this game and in the 77 minutes he was on the field he was an influential member of the side on a decent Sunday evening run-out.

January 20th: Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa – Gündogan did what many before him have failed to do in this match as he actually scored a penalty for Manchester City. Truly remarkable as this is a real sticking point for the blues in recent times. He was in attack-mode as he made 6 shots (2 on target) in the game, and again managed a 95% pass accuracy for the 2nd game running.

January 23rd: Cheltenham Town 1-3 Manchester City – Despite only being on the pitch for 20 minutes Gündogan was still influential as he bagged his first assist of the season, setting up Torres in stoppage time to seal the win. Decent result and showing his reliability to come on and sure up the side for the victory.

January 26th: West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Manchester City – In his top performance of the season, Ilkay Gündogan was on fire in this game as he played just 52 minutes, bagged 2 goals and earned a 9.37/10 rating in his Tuesday evening in the midlands. He scored with his 2 shots and was really involved he opened the scoring in the opening 5 minutes and again scored around the half-hour mark. He didn’t earn the star man award, missing out to Cancelo, however this is surely down to his early substitution, as this was a quality performance.

January 30th: Manchester City 1-0 Sheffield United – City saw out their unbeaten month in a surprisingly close contest against the bottom side. Scoring in the opening 10 minutes, it was a case of attack vs defence as City piled on pressure and United held resolute to avoid embarrassment and earn a respectable result in the grand scheme of things. Gündogan was fairly quiet in this one having no shots, but did make 3 key passes and maintained a pass accuracy of 90%. A fairly adequate performance to top off what has been a quality month for the German midfielder.