Manchester City will take their 2025 expenditure to beyond £225million with the capture of AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders, who'll sign a five-year deal after completing his medical
Tijjani Reijnders is set become the next piece of Manchester City's rebuild after they agreed a £46million deal with AC Milan. Reijnders, 26, will put pen to paper on a five-year contract, earning him around £200,000 per week.
The midfielder is poised to become City's first signing of the summer transfer window and take their total spending in 2025 beyond the £225m mark. Pep Guardiola welcomed four new arrivals in January, an indication that he's keen to refresh the squad after signing a two-year contract extension.
Reijnders, who joined Milan from AZ Alkmaar in 2023, was the shining light in disappointing campaign for the Italian giants, winning Serie A midfielder of the season and producing an outstanding performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League which saw him lauded. Two years after rejecting Barcelona, the Dutchman has agreed to sign for City, who hope to complete the signing before their Club World Cup campaign begins on Wednesday, June 18.
Guardiola targeted him as a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne, who's in talks to join Napoli. Reijnders is due to undergo a medical next week as he's currently on international duty with the Netherlands, who face Finland and Malta to get their World Cup qualifying campaign underway.
Etihad chiefs are also in talks with Wolves to sign left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri. The 23-year-old Algeria international has entered the final year of his contract at Molineux and all parties expected the move to happen.
City want to use the Club World Cup in the United States to get back to winning ways after enduring a first trophy-less season since the 2016-17 campaign, Guardiola's first. They'll face Morrocan outfit Wydad Casablance, Al Ain of the UAE and Serie A heavyweights Juventus in the group stage.
Reijnders hasn't spoken to Guardiola yet, telling Voetbal International earlier this week: "The Premier League is of course a great competition, that's what you dream of as a little boy. I haven’t had any contact with Guardiola yet, that's not on the agenda yet."
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The playmaker has been described as 'super complete' by Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman while Milan and Holland legend Frank Rijkaard is a big fan. "I hope that Reijnders becomes one of the best midfielders in the world, but I sincerely believe he's already on the right path," Rijkaard told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I really like his way of playing. He's becoming more and more important for Milan as time goes by. He can cover all the roles in the middle of the pitch and he's really generous, too.
"He never stops running for the team and always gives everything his all. With the quality he has, he is really good at creating dangerous chances for his teammates and always starts the move well."
Barcelona wanted to sign Reijnders as a replacement for Sergio Busquets back in 2023, but his dad convinced him to join Milan. "I advised my son to refuse Barcelona," Martin Reijnders revealed, speaking to Dutch outlet Algemen Dagblad.
"He could have been a reserve there, and risked failing abroad like many others before him. There were also requests from English clubs, but I only spoke with them through intermediaries. I only had direct contact with Barcelona, speaking to the director, Deco. I had to check his profile picture to see if it was really him.
"Of course we were pleased with Barcelona's interest, but they were looking for a replacement for Busquets and I immediately told my son that he is not that type of player. He doesn't have the characteristics they wanted, and before he knew it, he would have ended up on the bench."
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