Man City have pulled off another transfer masterstroke by re-signing Ilkay Gundogan - but ageing midfield now needs a big-money revamp in 2025

Although City still won a fourth-consecutive title without Gundogan and were not far from even repeating the treble, they were undoubtedly a worse team overall - lacking both the poise and control the German gave them deeper in midfield as well as his ability to arrive in the area on the end of cut-backs.

City's executives had been reluctant to give him a longer contract at the end of June 2023 due to their policy with players beyond the age of 30, but Guardiola had campaigned for him to stay.

After a stunning two-goal salvo against Everton which effectively sealed the title in May 2023, Guardiola said of the German: "He can do everything, and everything he does, he does well. He doesn’t talk much but when he talks everybody listens, this is the power of the leader.

"He shows his leadership every training session, arriving on time, living 24 hours his job. Close to the box he has an incredible sense of goal, he can play as a holding midfielder defensively without a problem."

Gundogan was a hugely reliable player most of the time. On other occasions, he was utterly decisive. In the 2021-22 title race he settled City nerves to make it 2-0 against Burnley.

On the final day of the season against Aston Villa, he pulled City back into contention from 2-0 down and then completed the comeback to snatch the title back from Liverpool.

At the business end of the following season he scored twice in a 2-1 win over Leeds, the first and last goals in the 3-0 win at Everton and then both goals in the FA Cup final against Manchester United, the game that mattered most to many fans.

In the 2020-21 season, which City played much of without a recognised striker, was their top scorer, with 13 strikes in the league and 17 overall. Across his final three seasons, he contributed to 39 goals in the Premier League alone. His 13 goal contributions per season is only marginally less than Alvarez's 14.5 and that is while playing in a much deeper position.

Gundogan kept up his strike rate at Barcelona, contributing to 14 goals in La Liga, 18 overall. He also stayed relatively fit, appearing in all but two league games and all Champions League matches. He also brought his insatiable hunger for winning and high standards to Barca and it did not rub off well on his team-mates, who he flayed for not being angrier after defeat to Clasico rivals Real Madrid.

He also criticised Ronald Araujo for an error in the Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain. Gundogan has the highest of standards and more than a decade of experience at the highest level, playing in three Champions League finals. No wonder Guardiola wanted him back.

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain hailed Gundogan's qualities as the club confirmed his return on Friday. "Ilkay is one of the finest professionals I have ever worked with. His dedication to football and his approach to every single training session is something special," he said.

"He is also an exceptional midfielder. His reading of the game, his football intelligence, his technical quality and his leadership make him an excellent addition to our squad. To be able to bring him back here is fantastic news for everyone. He will help us in our main objective, which is to win trophies, but he will also be an inspiration to so many."

One thing Alvarez had which Gundogan does not is time. The Argentine turned 24 in January and in October Gundogan will turn 34. He is a dream short-term solution but not one for the future. He will be the third-oldest player in the City squad behind Scott Carson and Walker, but his fellow midfielders are not far behind him.

De Bruyne has just turned 33 and this is likely to be his final season at the club as his contract winds down. Bernardo is 30, as are Mateo Kovacic and hybrid midfielder John Stones. Rodri is 28 and still has at least four years left in him at the top but City will have to begin a succession plan soon.

Because their recent efforts to rejuvenate the midfield have gone badly wrong; Kalvin Phillips was 26 when he joined from Leeds for £43m ($56m) but is now 28 and has been an utter failure. The England international is in his second spell on loan, at Ipswich, after starting just two Premier League games for City, neither of which were of any importance.

Then there is Matheus Nunes, who cost even more than Phillips at £53m ($69m) but has also failed to settle into the starting XI. Guardiola infamously described Nunes as "one of the best players in the world" when he was at Sporting CP but then last year went back on that statement.

"Maybe I overexaggerated a bit..he is not!" he said with a chuckle before adding: "But he is an exceptional player". City have yet to see signs of that exceptionalism. The Portugal international started just seven league games last season.

Only one of those starts was in the last three months of the season and it was against Luton Town, when Guardiola rotated his team and even rested Rodri. In the biggest games such as against Arsenal, Liverpool and United, he was an unused substitute.

One City midfielder who should have a bright future is Rico Lewis, who is now in his third season with the first team. Guardiola has effusively praised Lewis on numerous occasions and has given him responsibility in big games.

He made six Champions League starts and started in both games against Arsenal and Aston Villa. He also started last week's Premier League opener against Chelsea.

The caveat with Lewis is that a lot of those appearances have come at right or left full-back, with him playing a similar role to John Stones in shuttling between defence and midfield.

Some players might have wanted more than the 18 league starts he made in the last two seasons but he does not turn 20 until November and Guardiola evidently has a plan for him. It just remains to be seen whether that is in defence or in midfield, or indeed both.

City at least have no doubts about the longevity of their flagship player Phil Foden, who has thrived since playing in midfield in the last year, albeit with a licence to get forward as much as he can.

Foden, who only turned 24 in May, was one of the main beneficiaries of Gundogan's departure so it will be intriguing to see how Guardiola fits the German back in to a team that now revolves around the player who Guardiola, this time without exaggerating, described as the most talented player he has worked with.

Foden was only 16 when Gundogan arrived at the club from Borussia Dortmund and has blossomed into one of the best players in the world. And yet it should not be forgotten that Foden featured little in Gundogan's final campaign.

Still, relentless competition is what has made City so dominant under Guardiola and Gundogan alluded to it when he spoke to the club's official media upon his return.

"He has all sorts of solutions for every probability in the game and everything happening on the pitch. He can give you solutions in a very short space of time. On top of that, managing a dressing room is never easy – so many personalities and so many ambitious players that want to start every game," Gundogan said.

"It’s very important to manage that and keeping everyone happy. He’s also demanding – if you’re slightly off the gas in training sessions, you will not play because there are others who can replace with you with a lot of quality.

"That keeps everyone on their toes and driven to do their best – that's very special about this club in general.”

Gundogan did not fit in at Barcelona precisely because he can match Guardiola's demands and was not willing to coast like some of his team-mates. He will instantly feel back at home at City, where the bar remains high across the board.

And yet, City's immensely high standards and lack of patience with players such as Phillips and Matheus, who struggle to acclimatise, could eventually come back to bite them. Gundogan's return is welcome, but it kicks City's midfield rebuild down the road.

Will Guardiola even be around to see it through? Like Gundogan and De Bruyne, the Catalan's contract expires in 2025. He has extended it twice before and do not rule him doing it again. Unlike Jurgen Klopp, he has insisted he has enough energy and ambition to keep going.

But there has been some suggestion that this will indeed be his final campaign, his last dance. If so, he has brought one of his favourite partners back for it for one final waltz. The only danger is that once he has gone, whoever comes in next will be left with a daunting rebuild.