Manchester City midfielder, Ilkay Gundogan, has been crowned the Premier League Player of the Month for January.

He topped an eight-man shortlist that included Craig Dawson, Jack Grealish, Bernd Leno, James Maddison, Matheus Pereira, Bukayo Saka and John Stones.

The Germany international scored five goals in the month, “including spectacular efforts versus Chelsea, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion, to help Manchester City to six successive wins” as Pep Guardiola take a five-point lead at the top of the table with a game at hand.

“The highlight of January, it was just the run, the feeling you have inside yourself, that you’re so strong at the moment as a team, not just yourself,” the German said. “That’s just an amazing feeling.

“I had that feeling a few times, in the season where we got 100 points, in the season after when we won the league one point ahead of Liverpool.

“You have that feeling sometimes, where you feel so strong and unbeatable. That was probably the best thing, the best moment that went throughout all the month,” says the 30-year-old on the Premier League website.

Gundogan is the first time and is the first Man City player to claim the prize since Sergio Aguero in January 2020.