Seeing this scene, Raymond, Guardiola's trusted scout at the Etihad Stadium, showed no sign of surprise.
He nodded, quickly looked down, and began jotting notes in his notebook.
[Gundogan: Too slow in distribution, needs more time to adapt to the Premier League's pace]
Guardiola and Raymond had been tracking Gundogan for nearly half a year.
In their minds, this German midfielder had the physique, stamina, strategic vision, and a superb passing ability.
Perfectly meeting the demands of a defensive midfielder in the Guardiola Style control game.
However, Gundogan, at 25, had one flaw: he takes too much time to think when distributing the ball!
While the Bundesliga is fiercely competitive, many mid to lower-tier teams don't apply relentless pressure.
But the Premier League is different.
The pace here is very fast, often defenders make contact before the ball reaches your feet.
This requires players to have physical resilience and fast-paced passing thinking.
