How Tijjani Reijnders can re-energise Manchester City's midfield

Manchester City have announced the signing of AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and we've taken a look at how the Netherlands international will impact Pep Guardiola's side.

While the talented Dutchman isn't the only known midfielder to have been targeted by the Citizens, with Florian Wirtz and Morgan Gibbs-White mooted as potential candidates before deals were concluded too expensive, he is undoubtedly admired by Pep Guardiola and could be the solution to Man City's midfield worries.

With Kevin De Bruyne set to leave the club at the end of his contract and Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva showing signs of slowing down, Reijnders will be introduced to add some much-needed energy after a below par season.

We've established why Tijjani Reijnders could be the perfect fit in Pep Guardiola's midfield.

Impressive attacking output

While Reijnders has played most of his minutes throughout the 2024/25 campaign as a central midfielder, his attacking output would suggest that he's playing in a more advanced role.

While we shouldn't take away from the Dutchman's ability in the first and middle third, he is an effective box crasher, with a knack for arriving in the final third when sensing danger.

He is not afraid to offload shots either, ranking high in the percentile for shots taken and shots on target recorded.

Why is it so important that Man City recruit a midfielder with strong attacking output?

Well, the departure of Kevin De Bruyne leaves a glaringly visible void in creativity. While Kovacic and Silva both produced eight goal contributions in the league last term, Gundogan was involved in seven goals. Meanwhile, Reijnders, scored 10 Serie A goals and registered five assists.

Man City scored 72 goals in the last Premier League term, the lowest tally since Guardiola's arrival in 2016, and the addition of the Netherlands international could elevate their attacking prowess in their hunt to reclaim the title.

Metric	Total (Per 90)	Rank
Non-Penalty Goals	0.29	Top 3%

*(Source - fbref.com)

Efficient ball carrier

Much like Bernardo Silva, who ranks in the top two percentile with 3.51 progressive carries per game, Reijnders is efficient in gaining ground with the ball glued to his feet.

Extremely press resistant, the Dutchman often receives the ball on the half-turn, with an eye for playing forward almost instantly.

His passing statistics insinuate that he prefers to eat up the space as opposed to finding a player in between the lines, more than capable of taking on his opponent in order to advance into the final third.

It's not just his ball carrying in the first and middle third that impresses however, with a knack for misguiding defenders in the final third in order to produce shot-creating actions.

One thing typical in a Guardiola midfielder is versatility, and Reijnders certainly fits the bill. All of Silva, Gundogan and De Bruyne have been competent in both the '8' and the '10' role, similarly to the Dutchman who will expectedly play a central midfield role to allow Phil Foden or potential newcomer Rayan Cherki to occupy a more advanced position.

Metric	Total (Per 90)	Rank
Progressive carries	3	Top 4%

*(Source - fbref.com)