It would be beyond outrageous, and somewhat disrespectful, to say that Tijjani Reijnders is as good as Kevin de Bruyne, the Manchester City legend who left the club in May after spending a decade at the Etihad Stadium. He’s not. But there’s time for him to flourish into a Premier League giant solely judging off his debut against Wolves on Saturday.
It may sound naive and out of proportion but, with all things considered, Reijnders has the technical ability of a superstar. Just take a look at his Iniesta-esque dribbling move on Joao Gomes for City’s first goal of the rout. It's important to notice his clinical ability to score as well.
✨ Tijjani Reijnders was directly involved in 3 of our 4 goals on his Premier League debut! 🔥🔵
One of the greatest Premier League debuts you’ll see. 💫
[via @premierleague]
pic.twitter.com/ucKr1GKZAn
— City Chief (@City_Chief) August 16, 2025
As a box-to-box midfielder, it’s not exactly a necessity that someone has the finishing of a forward, but in just 180 minutes Reijnders has shown that, more than anything, he is clinical and makes the most of his chances, whether that’s scoring or providing.
A brace against Palermo in City’s final pre-season friendly seemed to be the warm-up act, regardless of how easy it appeared. But his performance and finish against Wolves was the culmination of pure talent and some commendable investment from Guardiola and co.
“He was sensational,” said former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer on BBC Match of the Day. “It was almost the perfect midfield performance. It was incredible. He controlled the game at his pace.
*“He is an absolute nightmare to play against because he is always on the move. The way he ran was a key part for Manchester City, he just kept going and going and Wolves didn’t have the answer. He was brilliant at it, they couldn’t cope with him.”*
Irrespective to whether or not Wolves were adequate opponents to judge the talent of this young midfielder, who is just dipping his toes into the physicality and intensity of the Premier League that people rave about, Reijnders looks the brightest spark of the bunch. City’s biggest weakness has, perhaps, become their biggest strength.
De Bruyne won 19 major trophies at Manchester City (Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport/Getty Images)
Last season’s absence of any real midfielder was a dour display for fans of the eight-time Premier League champions, but one that makes the sight of Reijnders — and that goes without mentioning the potential of Omar Marmoush, Oscar Bobb, Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki — shine a little brighter.
Rodri‘s anterior cruciate injury seems to have aggravated a further setback with a groin problem picked up against Al-Hilal in City’s final Club World Cup game but, unlike last season, the void is suitably filled, for now.
We could all be wrong. Reijnders could turn out to be a terrible flop or, worse, pick up a season-ending injury. But this prediction goes beyond the current campaign, and the next, and the one after.
As a 27-year-old (who was 26 less than a month ago) the Netherlands international is in his prime years as a footballer and probably has another 5, 6, 7 years left at the top if he takes good care of himself. It’s also dependent on if he's able to reach the skill-set of De Bruyne, as well.
It goes without saying that it’s no easy task, but Reijnders is a player who owns not only some impressive existing talent, but the potential to fill those vast shoes of De Bruyne.
The Belgium international won 19 major trophies at City, including six Premier League titles, five League Cups, three Community Shields, and one Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.
If Reijnders is to get close to emulating De Bruyne’s successes, it won’t come in the form of trophies, but rather statistics and general impact. There’s a difference.
Reijnders scored a brace in pre-season against Palermo (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
De Bruyne, who joined Serie A club Napoli in this summer’s window, already had three years on Reijnders when he joined City at the age of 24, providing the comparison goes off the beginning of that year’s top-flight campaign.
De Bruyne won three competitions in as many seasons at City when he turned 27: Reijnders’ age. That means to reach the amount of trophies in a similar timeframe as De Bruyne, Reijnders would need to lift 2.29 trophies per season and play at the top level until the age of 34, when De Bruyne left City.
To the usual standards of Guardiola’s side, that’s amusingly doable if they are to stay in top form until the Catalan leaves. When he does, whether it be until his current contract ends in 2027 or later, it remains to be seen.
This isn’t necessarily about comparison, either. But it begs the question: can Reijnders outdo arguably the best midfielder in the history of the Premier League, may I question the entirety of football's existence?
He’s a long way from producing the legendary number that De Bruyne did and it would come as no surprise if he’s unable to reach the stature of the Belgian.
But there’s always the next generation of talent which floods through and it seems that Reijnders is amongst the elite. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, but it’s hardly controllable due to the sheer enjoyment that this midfielder brings.