Manchester United target £21.5 million deal to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan

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Published on:

24 Apr 2015, 4:26 pm

By Manchester correspondent Alex Stevens

Manchester United are targeting a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan,

Football Insider

sources understand.

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The Premier League club are in talks with the Bundesliga outfit for the 24-year-old midfielder to move to Old Trafford this summer for a fee of £21.5million. According to reports in Germany, a contract could be signed by both clubs as early as this weekend. Gundogan could be the first of a number of high profile signings by United this summer

as they prepare to spend up to £200m on new players

. United have swooped for the midfield anchorman after identifying him as the long-term successor to Michael Carrick. The England international recently signed a 12-month contract extension and will continue to be part of Louis van Gaal's plans next season but the manager has sanctioned a move for Gundogan after being convinced he has fully recovered from the back problem that sidelined him for 14 months. United have extensively scouted the Germany international for the last three years after he was a central figure in Dortmund's 2011-12 Bundesliga triumph. Gundogan, who joined Dortmund from Nuremberg in the summer of 2011, has just over a year remaining on his contract and has decided to follow Jurgen Klopp out of the club. Klopp announced earlier this month that he will leave Dortmund at the end of the season, with Mainz manager Thomas Tuchel appointed as his successor.

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