City Secure €55m Move for Dutch Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders

Manchester City have finalized a €55 million transfer with AC Milan to sign 26-year-old Dutch international Tijjani Reijnders, pending a routine medical. The midfielder enjoyed his most prolific season in 2024–25, scoring 15 goals and providing seven assists in 54 appearances across all competitions. His new five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium could see the total fee rise to around €60 million once add-ons related to Champions League milestones and domestic trophies are included.

Reijnders arrives at a critical juncture as City prepare for the Club World Cup, which kicks off on 14 June 2025 in the United States. The 2024–25 campaign saw City’s midfield trio achieve an average pass completion rate of 72 percent and supply approximately 1.8 key passes per match. However, with Mateo Kovacic sidelined since March following Achilles surgery and Kevin De Bruyne likely to miss the tournament amid links to Napoli, manager Pep Guardiola required an immediate reinforcement. Reijnders’ blend of defensive grit and goal threat promises to restore balance. During his time at Milan, he averaged 2.3 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, while his goal ratio of one every 3.6 matches underlined his capacity to influence the scoreline from deeper positions.

Born in Zwolle, Reijnders made his senior debut for PEC Zwolle in 2018, appearing 29 times and helping the club avoid relegation in his debut Eredivisie season. In July 2020, AZ Alkmaar invested around €2.5 million to secure his services. Over three seasons with AZ, Reijnders tallied 14 goals and 12 assists in 97 league matches, directly contributing to nearly half of the team’s goals in 2022–23: eight strikes and seven key passes in 34 games accounted for 44 percent of AZ’s total goals that season. His average of 3.5 progressive carries per 90 minutes and pass accuracy under pressure of 87 percent earned him a call-up to the Dutch national team for the UEFA Nations League.

Upon his €18 million move to AC Milan in July 2024—Milan’s then-record signing for a midfielder—Reijnders continued to shine even as the Rossoneri struggled. They finished eighth in Serie A, posting an xG average of just 1.1 per match, but Reijnders contributed 15 goals and seven assists. He generated an average of 14 shots per game from midfield transitions, completed 2.8 dribbles every 90 minutes at a 60 percent success rate, and maintained a 78 percent pass accuracy under intense pressing. Those performances earned him the coveted “Serie A Midfielder of the Season” award despite Milan’s overall league position.

Guardiola’s decision to pursue Reijnders was influenced by the Dutchman’s ability to combine high-octane pressing with incisive forward play. At Milan, Reijnders registered 4.1 progressive passes per 90 minutes, matching closely to the 45 percent share of progressive passes City’s midfield averaged last term. Physically, he covered 11.5 kilometers on average per match and completed 1.9 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, metrics that align perfectly with City’s high-tempo pressing philosophy. Standing 1.86 meters tall, he also won an average of 1.7 aerial duels per game—an asset in both defensive transitions and set-piece situations.

With Rodri returning from injury only late in the 2024–25 season and featuring in just 12 league matches, Reijnders will slot alongside him to form a dynamic double pivot or push forward into a more advanced box-to-box role. City’s offensive output dipped to 2.25 goals per game whenever De Bruyne was unavailable, so adding Reijnders’ goal contribution rate of 0.28 per 90 minutes should help maintain the team’s high-scoring standards. His propensity for delivering 2.6 passes into the final third per 90 minutes integrates seamlessly with City’s pattern-play approach, where midfielders often orchestrate overloads in wide or central areas.

Financially, the €55 million base fee with add-ons represents Milan’s largest sale since Sandro Tonali’s €70 million transfer to Newcastle in 2023. Reijnders accounted for approximately 22.3 percent of Milan’s attacking actions and almost half of their goals—44 percent involvement—so replacing that output will prove challenging. However, the substantial sum enables Milan to reinvest in at least two reinforcements: a box-to-box midfielder—estimated around €18 million—and a defensive midfielder near €25 million to compensate for departures such as Franck Kessié. Moreover, shedding Reijnders’ wage of roughly €4.5 million per year improves Milan’s Financial Fair Play standing for upcoming windows.

Once cleared medically, Reijnders will join City’s training base in Carrington to link up with Rodri and İlkay Gündoğan. He is expected to make his debut at the Club World Cup, where City aim to become only the second English side—after Liverpool in 2019—to lift the trophy. If successful, the Dutchman will immediately add to City’s recent haul: since their first Club World Cup participation in 2023, City have amassed 15 trophies in five years, meaning they claim silverware every four months on average.

Over the long run, Reijnders’ statistical consistency—2.6 progressive passes, 2.3 tackles, and 1.1 interceptions per 90 minutes—combined with his high work rate of 11.5 kilometers covered and 2.1 sprints per 90 will allow Guardiola to rotate effectively through roughly 58–60 matches per season. This should sustain City’s pursuit of a domestic treble and a fifth Champions League final appearance, while also offering him a platform to develop under one of the game’s greatest coaches.

For Milan, reproducing Reijnders’ 22.3 percent involvement in attacking sequences and his knack for scoring (a career-high 15 goals) is a tall order. Even with reinvestment, replicating his precise blend of creativity, physicality, and goal threat—elements that saw him earn Serie A’s top midfield award—will likely require patience and shrewd scouting.

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