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Manchester City are contemplating a move to sign Tijjani Reijnders as they continue revamping their squad with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne set to leave.
As Manchester City brace for life after Kevin De Bruyne, the club is carefully scouting midfielders who can bring a new dimension to their evolving engine room — and AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders has emerged as a leading candidate.
The 26-year-old Dutchman might not be a like-for-like De Bruyne replacement, but he ticks plenty of Pep Guardiola’s boxes.
Here are seven reasons City are eyeing Reijnders as the man to fill the De Bruyne-shaped void:
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1. He Grew Up Studying De Bruyne’s Game
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City may be looking to replace De Bruyne, but Reijnders has long studied the Belgian to elevate his own play. “I watched his games, YouTube clips, especially the way he was scanning the pitch before he gets the ball,” Reijnders told The Athletic.
“So he always knows where the space is. I try to do the same.” That thirst for footballing intelligence speaks directly to Guardiola’s ethos — awareness, decision-making, and control.
2. He’s a Hybrid of Bernardo and Gundogan — Not a Clone
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While De Bruyne inspired him, Reijnders’ playing style has more in common with Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva — two other midfielders City are already planning for life without. He blends Gundogan’s knack for ghosting into the box with Bernardo’s movement, dribbling, and availability as a passing option.
According to data from SkillCorner, his tendencies align most with Bernardo, especially in terms of supporting the attack.
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3. A Guardiola-Style Midfielder
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Through and Through From receiving deep to threading short passes in tight zones, Reijnders is built for Guardiola-ball. He often drops between defenders to help in build-up play and then moves upfield to continue the attack — mimicking how City have used Gundogan or De Bruyne in deeper roles beside Rodri.
His intelligence in tight spaces and ability to dictate tempo are hallmarks of Pep’s ideal midfielder.
4. He Carries the Ball With Purpose
Unlike Some Recent Signings City have tried to address the Premier League’s physicality by targeting midfielders who can carry the ball — like Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes.
But that experiment has had mixed results. Kovacic can dribble but often gets boxed in; Nunes hasn’t gained Pep’s trust. Reijnders, by contrast, mixes ball progression with sound decision-making — an asset Guardiola sorely needs.
5. He's Already Showing He Can Be a Goal Threat
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This season, Reijnders has added a crucial new weapon: goals. He’s netted 15 across all competitions, a standout return for a midfielder. Many of those strikes come after he’s orchestrated the attack — collecting the ball deep, carrying it forward, and finishing the move himself.
He showed it against Spain for the Netherlands and again with an impressive solo finish versus Real Madrid.
6. He’s Got the Positional IQ to Solve City’s Midfield Puzzle
In one sequence against Bologna, Reijnders starts from the edge of his own box, passes to his keeper, then sprints diagonally into space. He gets the ball back, releases it, and attacks again — progressing his team into the final third with barely a touch. That kind of positional IQ and spatial manipulation is exactly what City miss when De Bruyne is sidelined.
7. He Fits the Dutch-Barça-Guardiola Football DNA
With his early admiration for Andrés Iniesta and being Dutch — the same country that gave the world Johan Cruyff — Reijnders sits at the intersection of Barça and Total Football, both of which heavily shaped Guardiola. Those shared footballing philosophies could make his transition into Pep’s tactical machine much smoother.
The Final Word
City have also shown interest in Florian Wirtz and Morgan Gibbs-White, but wage structure concerns could limit them to signing just one or two midfielders.
If Reijnders is among them, it could turn out to be a smart long-term move. He won’t immediately replace De Bruyne’s magic — no one can — but with his ball progression, awareness, and versatility, he offers the kind of well-rounded threat that Guardiola can mould into something special.
In short, Reijnders may not be the new De Bruyne — but he’s exactly the kind of player who could thrive in the space KDB leaves behind.
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