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Worth the wait for Mr Whippy! Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is flourishing after being unshackled by boss Pep Guardiola

Ilkay Gundogan's importance to his manager was evident before the German even set foot in England. Not only was he the first signing of Pep Guardiola's reign, Manchester City bought him injured.

Not just a niggle, either. Gundogan dislocated a kneecap playing basketball before Euro 2016. He feared the £20million move from Tuesday's opponents Borussia Dortmund would be off but Guardiola was having none of that. The City boss called him to offer reassurance and told Gundogan to get himself to Manchester.

Guardiola had attempted to land Gundogan while at Bayern Munich and made clear to City sporting director Txiki Begiristain that they really needed him in the months prior to arriving as Manuel Pellegrini's successor.