Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan as they look to revamp a midfield that had grown tired
Tijjani Reijnders of AC Milan celebrates with Fikayo Tomori after scoring the his team's third goal during the Coppa Italia Semi Final match between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy
Tijjani Reijnders of AC Milan celebrates with Fikayo Tomori after scoring the his team's third goal during the Coppa Italia Semi Final match between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy
Tijjani Reijnders(Image: AC Milan via Getty Images)
Manchester City have agreed their first deal of the summer with a move for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutch international will sign a five-year deal and give new energy to a part of the team that had looked tired this season.
As is common with transfers, City are paying an initial fee (£46.3m) and there are further payments due based on performance; a total fee of €70m has been reported. That would mean around £12.5m in bonuses, and push the total fee close to £60m.
As is also common with these kind of transfers, the specific details of what is needed to unlock those payments has not emerged. Both parties involved in the deal tend to prefer it that way, since they can each claim to have got the best possible deal.
These clauses could be related to team success such as Premier League or Champions League glory, individual from a number of goals, assists or appearances to Ballon d'Or positioning, or a mix of both. A recent example came with Patrick Roberts, where £2m of the potential £3m Sunderland agreed to pay City in 2022 was based on them reaching the Premier League.
If City can be delighted with paying just £46.3m to sign the Serie A midfielder of the year, they will also be delighted to pay the full amount as they believe for this to happen Reijnders will have to have demonstrated that he is one of the best in the world in his position.
It will be more money to pay AC Milan, but a justification of the talent seen by Txiki Begiristain and Hugo Viana that they think can significantly improve the Blues.
City will also be pleased to have agreed the fee despite their urgency in getting deals done. AC Milan could have held out for more given the Blues want to add players to their squad in time for the Club World Cup - Real Madrid paid nearly £10m to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold a month early - but the Blues do not appear to have paid a premium for speed.
"We have clearly identified who exactly are the targets, in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option," said chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak last week.
"And we'll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. And our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
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