I would hire him instantly! - Gundogan would welcome Guardiola as Low successor

Ilkay Gundogan would welcome the appointment of Pep Guardiola as Joachim Low's successor should the Manchester City manager become available.

Low announced earlier this month that he will leave his role with the national side after the delayed European Championship finals, which are scheduled to begin in June.

A number of high-profile names have been linked with the soon-to-be vacant position, with City boss Guardiola deemed to be an outside contender for the job.

Gundogan has spent the past five seasons playing under the Catalan at the Etihad Stadium and is enjoying the best campaign of his career in terms of goal involvements.

While the ex-Borussia Dortmund midfielder would like to work with Guardiola at international level, he accepts that is unlikely to be possible anytime soon.

"I would personally hire him instantly but I think that would be difficult as he is not currently available," he said at a news conference on Tuesday.

"I also don't know if I would like to be without him at City. Besides, I owe a lot to Joachim and I want him to leave on a high."

City remain on course for a quadruple this campaign in what will be all-time leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero's last at the club.

The Argentina international confirmed on Monday he will be leaving at the end of the season and Gundogan is hopeful his team-mate can bow out on a high.

"He has done incredible things and contributed a lot to us being where we are now," he said. "We still have him for a few weeks and hopefully we can see him off with some success."

Aguero has already won the Premier League four times during his decade with City, the most memorable being the first of those in 2011-12.

He scored a dramatic winner against QPR on the final day to ensure City finished above Manchester United, a moment that still lives with Gundogan, who was with Dortmund at the time.

"I still get goosebumps when I see his legendary goal with original commentary," Gundogan added.

Gundogan's focus for now is on Wednesday's World Cup 2022 qualifier against North Macedonia as Germany aim to make it three wins from three in Group J.

The 30-year-old played the entirety of the victories over Iceland and Romania, but he is not taking his place in the side for granted ahead of Euro 2020.

"We have a number of top-class players here," he said. "It is very good for us to have that level of competition. Now it is down to the coach to distribute the right tasks.

"I want to play and I'm confident that I should be playing. I had a similar feeling in 2018 but only played one half against Sweden [at the World Cup].

"I've always felt I deserved to play, but you have to accept the decisions of others."

Low confirmed on Tuesday that Gundogan is in contention to skipper Germany at the MSV-Arena in Duisburg with regular captain Manuel Neuer being rested for the match.