It would come as no surprise if in 18 months’ time, Tijjani Reijnders’ game has hit new heights at Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola has had such an impact on a whole host of players at City, with John Stones being the prime example — going from being a talented young centre-back into one of the most complete defenders in the modern game.
Similarly, Ilkay Gundogan, who signed as a potentially world-class central midfielder turned into a truly complete player, capable of operating at elite standards across the middle of the park.
Reijnders instantly decided to join Manchester City after the Sky Blues reached out to his father to secure the Dutchman’s services and he will be determined to reach the next level at the Etihad Stadium as well.
Tijjani Reijnders says he can ‘learn a lot’ from Ilkay Gundogan
Tijjani Reijnders is already one of the most well-rounded midfielders in the world, being a terrific passer, an excellent technician and a threat in the final third.
Reijnders has worked on his finishing, which allowed him to score a career-high tally of 15 goals last season and add goalscoring to his arsenal as well.
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Gundogan, who Martin Keown called “underrated” is a player the 26-year-old believes could help up his game, as he said via The Times: “I’ve watched the clips of Kevin [De Bruyne] a lot but Gundogan is someone I can learn a lot from. It’s nice to see him nearby and the way he does it.”
“Last season with Milan, I was on the scoresheet more. It’s very important to score goals as a midfielder and it’s what I’m looking to do — that and assists. The first season at Milan, I wasn’t calm in my head when I had opportunities to score and it was something I was thinking about in the summer after.”
“I watched clips of myself when I got into those situations and tried to adapt to those kinds of things in the second season, to be calmer in front of goal.”
Tijjani Reijnders stats compared to Gundogan before Man City move
Interestingly, Manchester City consider Reijnders as Gundogan’s heir in the long term.
Much like when Rodri was signed to replace Fernandinho, it seems like City have utilised the same strategy by signing the former AC Milan maestro.
While the Spaniard still has plenty of work to do to reach the Brazilian’s level, the stats suggest that Reijnders might be at a more advanced stage of his development than Gundogan was before both players joined Manchester City.
STATS BEFORE MAN CITY MOVE ILKAY GUNDOGAN: ’15/16 TIJJANI REIJNDERS: ’24/25
STARTS 34 53
GOALS 3 15
ASSISTS 7 5
While Gundogan provided more assists (seven) than Reijnders (five), the latter trumps him as a goalscorer (15 goals as compared to the German’s tally of three).
The latter was also far less injury-prone, starting 19 more games than the former Borussia Dortmund hero last season.