Manchester City’s transfer window may not have been a 10 out of 10, but they still managed to sign some great players at decent prices.
For instance, the Citizens bagged Gianluigi Donnarumma, arguably the world’s best goalkeeper, for a reported fee of just £26million.
Likewise, Manchester City paid around £34million for Rayan Cherki, and his signing has been deemed better than Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.
Now, it has been reported that a different signing City made continues to surprise many in the football world by what a bargain it was.
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Tijjani Reijnders of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux on August 16, 2025
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Tijjani Reijnders was City’s most expensive signing this summer, with the Citizens paying around £45million to AC Milan for his signature.
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Reijnders joined City to considerable fanfare, considering how well he had been doing for Milan and the Netherlands.
And according to The Athletic, many people within the sport remain surprised that City did not have to pay more than £45million ($60.9m) to sign him in June.
This is especially the case when considering that rival clubs knew City were on the lookout for someone who would replace the Napoli-bound Kevin De Bruyne.
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On the outskirts of Zwolle, a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel, shoppers queue to buy their groceries. It is all self-service these days and, of course, the prices have gone up over the years.
But that’s really the only change since the checkout counter of this Aldi… pic.twitter.com/Alu0CgtVBg
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) September 13, 2025
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What Tijjani Reijnders can learn from Rodri after mixed start at Manchester City
Reijnders’ debut for Man City was virtually flawless as he scored twice and also chipped in with an assist en route to a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Admittedly, Reijnders was not quite as great against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion, but then again, neither were most of his teammates.
In the notoriously fickle world of football fandom, some rival supporters have already begun downplaying Reijnders’ quality.
However, Reijnders has the perfect teammate from which to learn – Rodri’s first season at Man City was nothing to write home about, but he’s now a Ballon d’Or winner.
“In my first year I was a disaster,” Rodri told BBC Sport in September last year, as he admitted he initially struggled to get to grips with Guardiola’s tactics.
“I was like, ‘I don’t even know what you’re talking to me about, just let me play football.'”
It’s not all that uncommon for Guardiola’s signings to need some time to get to grips with the system – but once they do, they become world-beaters.