Ilkay Gundogan springs surprise on Manchester City coach with training ground info

In March, Pep Guardiola admitted that he foresees Ilkay Gundogan as the most likely player at Manchester City to become a manager one day.

It seems as though the Catalan boss’ prediction could well come true one day, with the experienced midfielder taking steps to enter the world of coaching in the future.

Perhaps most encouragingly, the 31 year-old is set to attain his UEFA B license this summer.

It has earlier been revealed that every time the four-time Premier League champion heads out to join his national side, he takes online seminars and lessons to further learn his trade-to-be post-retirement.

As a part of his coaching license course, the German international was also demanded to be in charge of training sessions involving Manchester City’s U16s.

In an exclusive look into one of the sessions led by the former Borussia Dortmund lynchpin released on Manchester City’s official YouTube channel, he was seen running passing drills and rondos among other key aspects.

Ilkay Gundogan has also taken to social media to profess his love for popular game, ‘Football Manager’, which just goes to emphasise just how enamoured he is by the prospect of taking up coaching one day.

Recently discussing his ambitions to complete the UEFA A license as well as the final professional course, it is clear to see that he is dead set on becoming a manager after hanging up his boots.

The decorated midfielder also revealed how working alongside great coaches such as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel has spurred him on to take up a role on the sidelines in the future.

Brian Barry-Murphy, the current boss of the Elite Development Squad (EDS) gave an insight into Ilkay Gundogan’s potential as a top coach, as the pair worked together during the Manchester City U-23s’ pre-season training camp in Croatia recently.

“As coaches, we always want to project to the players that we are experts and have all the answers.

He continued, "But there were moments where Ilkay (Gundogan) would say something to me on the pitch.

"It would be like a lightbulb moment where you think 'S***, I never thought of that!’"

"He was so insightful in terms of his experience in Germany, different things that he sees, different things that Pep (Guardiola) gives to him and his interpretation of that”, he revealed, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

Pep Guardiola was once famously quoted as describing Ilkay Gundogan as one of the most intelligent players he has ever worked with.

With Barry-Murphy now joining the list of managers to rave about the German’s football IQ, all signs point to him becoming a revered coach one day.