Date published: Friday 5th February 2021 9:28 – Lewis Oldham
Jurgen Klopp also insisted that Ilkay Gundogan is one of the “best players” he has ever coached ahead of Sunday’s clash against Man City.
Gundogan spent over four years under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund. In that time they won the Bundesliga and they finished as runners-up in the 2012/13 Champions League.
Klopp left Dortmund in October 2015 to replace Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool boss. Gundogan stayed in Germany for the rest of that season but he signed for Manchester City that summer for around £20m.
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The midfielder has made over 180 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side since his move to the Premier League.
He is enjoying his best goalscoring season to date this time around as he has netted nine times from his 23 outings.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game against City, as cited by The World Game, Klopp heaped praise on Gundogan:
“Not at all [surprised] – the goalscoring maybe a little bit, the rest not. Ilkay was one of the best players I ever coached.
“He was a very young player when he came to us from Nurnberg to Dortmund. Especially in the 2012 season, he was unbelievable and played pretty much like he is playing now.
“Then he had, unfortunately, some injuries, really tough injuries, but that’s now all sorted.
“It’s the longest period he can play football without getting interrupted. I wish him really well that he can continue like this. That’s the only reason. He was always that player.
“When you are smart and experience comes into play as well, then it’s another jump in your performance level, and I’m not surprised at all.”