Best Alternatives to İlkay Gündoğan

Playing Style Analysis

Gündoğan remains the ultimate metronome, a player who treats the football like a precious heirloom while simultaneously using it as a scalpel to dissect defensive blocks. Operating in the Super Lig, he has become the division’s undisputed gravitational center, ranking in the top 5% for both pass volume (70.2/90) and accuracy (92.9%). While his 1.89 key passes and top-tier assist rate suggest a traditional playmaker, the data reveals a counterintuitive defensive tenacity; his press intensity and tackle success sit well above the league average, proving he isn't just coasting on reputation. The three closest DNA matches to İlkay Gündoğan:

• Fred(83% match) — Fred operates as a one-man distribution engine in the Super Lig, combining elite-level volume passing with genuine forward intent in a way few midfielders in this league can match. His 62.5 passes per 90 and 11.05 passes into the final third both land in the top 5% — not recycling possession but actively threading the game forward.
• Karol Linetty(82% match) — Linetty is the kind of midfielder who quietly threads a match together without ever demanding the spotlight — a Polish journeyman who has found a second wind in the Turkish top flight by doing the unglamorous work exceptionally well. His key pass rate lands in the top 30% of Super Lig midfielders, yet his dribble attempts sit in the bottom 10%, which tells you everything: he moves the ball, not himself.
• Luka Modrić(83% match) — A Metronome. Statistically, he stands out as an elite creator (1.7 key passes/90), meticulous in distribution (90% pass accuracy), wins the physical battle (56% duel success), heavily involved in possession (71 passes/90), penetrates with forward passing (11.0 final-third passes/90), central to possession (86 touches/90), switches play with precision (7.5 long balls/90, 75% accuracy), a high-intensity presser (press score 3.1/90), constantly disrupting opposition build-up and top 20% creator in the league.

Similarity uses per-90 performance across playing-style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →