Manchester City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders is “the absolute star” of the current Netherlands squad.
That’s according to [journalist Johan Derksen on Vandaag Inside](https://www.vandaaginside.nl/sport/ek-voetbal/artikelen/johan-derksen-wijst-absolute-vedette-bij-oranje-aan-hij-heeft-alles-wat-fre). He’s a big fan of the Manchester City midfielder and even thinks he’s better than Frenkie de Jong.
Reijnders has been impressing at Manchester City since joining in a big money move from AC Milan this summer. He is very much seen as the long-term replacement for Kevin de Bruyne.
He’s yet to fully establish himself as the key man for the Netherlands, though. That’s largely due to the number of midfield options that Ronald Koeman currently has at his disposal.
He’s yet to full choose between Reijnders, De Jong, Ryan Gravenberch and others ahead of the World Cup this summer.
Reijnders has already been left out of the squad, admitting that it left him frustrated when it happened. He responded to that frustration with a star display in the 4-0 win over Lithuania. He bagged a goal and an assist in that win to further complicate matters for Koeman.
Derksen was watching and clearly left impressed. In fact, he thinks the Manchester City midfielder is the absolute star of the current crop of Dutch talent.
“I think Reijnders is the absolute star of this team,” he said.
“I was already surprised by the fact that he had absolutely no problems adjusting to Manchester City. That’s the highest level you have in England.
“He actually has everything Frenkie de Jong doesn’t have. Frenkie can play well in a safe midfield, but he never gets any further than that.
“He never gets into the penalty area and never scores. Reijnders has much more running ability, is much more dynamic. He has the running ability and gets there, and he scores too.”