Manchester City signed Tijjani Reijnders in the summer and the Dutchman has made an immediate impact at the Etihad.
Tijjani Reijnders has had an impressive start to life at Manchester City
There is one department where Erling Haaland isn’t leading the way for Manchester City this season and that is in terms of time on the pitch, with Tijjani Reijnders establishing himself at the top of that particular chart.
Not many Pep Guardiola signings come in and make the kind of immediate impact that the Netherlands international has done since his £46.3million move from AC Milan this summer, especially in the centre of midfield.
The Premier League might be a slightly less tactically refined environment this season, but we’ve seen plenty of midfielders take their time to grasp life under Guardiola, not least Rodri in 2019/20 and Nico Gonzalez this year.
But Reijnders has understood the tactical demands immediately and has adapted to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League with little drama.
Alongside Haaland, he is the only player who has started all seven Premier League fixtures this season, but he has played 607 minutes to Haaland’s 593, remaining on the pitch for 96.3% of City’s league campaign so far.
Broaden it out to all competitions, and the picture remains the same. Reijnders is the only City player to have played in all 10 Blues games this season.
That feels unlikely to change any time soon. For all the added competition in midfield this season, Reijnders feels like he’s the first name on the teamsheet in that area of the pitch, especially with Rodri struggling to regain full fitness after his knee injury.
It might be Rodri or Nico Gonzalez at the base, or Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden or Rayan Cherki in the most attacking role, but it is always Reijnders linking the two.
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He has described himself as a box-to-box midfielder and he has fulfilled that brief. His shot output is that of someone who is likely to add to his one goal sooner rather than later and he adds a bit of solidity in midfield as well. At times, he will be alongside Rodri or Gonzalez, but when City are on top, he will be playing close to the opposition’s penalty area.
After scoring 15 goals for AC Milan last season, it was easy to believe that Reijnders could replace Kevin De Bruyne. But really, he is the new Ilkay Gundogan, an all-round midfielder capable of doing both and tactically astute enough to carry out Guardiola’s demands.
The City boss loved Gundogan for that and it feels like he is already forming a similar opinion of Reijnders, who at 27 is the peak of his powers. He described him as a “special player arriving into the box” in pre-season and he has been excellent for his new club, settling in quickly and looking the part.
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