Reijnders Set to Leave Man City: How a Key Signing Became a Transfer Mistake

According to The Athletic, Enzo Maresca has revealed that Tijjani Reijnders is set to join Al-Qadsiah, with the midfielder looking to leave Manchester City after just one season at the club. The player is believed to have been deemed unsuitable for City’s needs.

Speaking on Friday, Maresca said: “When a player has already made up their mind, it is difficult to convince them otherwise. You have to change their way of thinking, and that is not always easy.”

During pre-season preparations, Maresca also revealed that Trafford, who has since joined Leeds United, and Omar Marmoush, who could still leave this summer, had both decided before the start of the transfer window that they wanted to move on due to frustrations from last season.

Maresca added: “Reijnders’ situation is the same as Trafford’s, and there are some other players as well. I think when the club, the player and the coach all agree that leaving is the best decision for the player, then you have to go.”

So how did things reach this point?

During the urgent rebuild last summer, Reijnders was considered one of Manchester City’s key signings. Yet just one year later, he finds himself on the verge of an exit. Much like Maresca’s comments regarding Marmoush, who joined around 18 months ago, there are now several similar cases at City.

Reijnders’ qualities were initially extremely attractive. He arrived at Manchester City as Serie A’s Player of the Season, with his ability to carry the ball forward, control matches and score goals suggesting he could make a genuine impact at any club.

Manchester City desperately needed fresh energy in midfield after the 2024-25 season. Between October and March, City won only 11 of their 35 matches, while Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan both departed. Reijnders appeared to be the perfect player to provide the intensity and creativity the team needed.

In recent years, City have prioritised signing players capable of beating opponents with their dribbling, and Reijnders fitted that profile. Their signings last summer followed a similar philosophy — bringing in players who could change games, then gradually addressing their weaknesses later.

However, Reijnders always had certain flaws, and those issues were eventually exposed.

Even during his outstanding season in Italy, there were signs that his defensive contribution was limited. He was not particularly sharp at reading second balls, let alone winning duels consistently.

The previous season, he scored 15 goals in all competitions, by far the best scoring campaign of his career. In fact, it was the only season in which he scored more than seven league goals. His 2022-23 numbers were also boosted by three goals in Europa Conference League qualifying.

Remove those goals, add in his limited defensive output, and his overall profile becomes less impressive.

At 28 years old, there was also an expectation that he should already have accumulated more consistently outstanding seasons before arriving at City.

However, another issue may have been that he never had a clearly defined role in Pep Guardiola’s squad that allowed him to maximise all of his strengths.

Guardiola wanted to utilise his goal-scoring ability by pushing him further forward, positioning him closer to Erling Haaland, in a similar way to how Gundogan previously attacked the penalty area.

Guardiola said last summer: “We know he is a special player who can find positions inside the box. The Italians know him very well. He can play as a holding midfielder, but he also likes to arrive in the box and help players like Haaland and Marmoush.”

Reijnders did occasionally make runs into the penalty area — for example, arriving around the edge of the box to receive cut-backs — but when opponents defended deep against City, he often remained high up the pitch, which seemed to limit the impact of his skill set.

His Premier League debut away against Wolves at Molineux was outstanding. However, he increasingly struggled to replicate the creativity and attacking instincts he showed in that match.

That said, when Guardiola settled on the same starting XI for several weeks, Reijnders was still a regular starter and remained in the team for long periods.

Interestingly, he enjoyed a strong spell in December and early January, scoring four goals in seven league matches and appearing to have adapted well. Yet shortly afterwards, he suddenly found himself out of the team.

Sources close to Guardiola’s coaching staff suggested that Reijnders was not used in the deeper midfield role because City did not need him to perform that job at the time, given the presence of Bernardo Silva and Rodri — especially after Rodri returned from injury in January.

From early February until the end of the season, Reijnders failed to come off the bench in nine of City’s 14 league matches and started only twice.

People close to the Dutch international say he felt he was not trusted enough and had already started considering a departure.

This was despite the fact that he and his wife were enjoying life in Manchester and he had built friendships with teammates.

Speaking about players who wanted to leave, Maresca said: “They train every day, every week, and when the weekend comes, they want to play. When they don’t play, it is difficult for them to understand and difficult to see the reason why. I can understand that after one season, some of them want to play more. That is normal.”

Manchester City’s midfield is expected to undergo major changes this summer.

Barcelona are pushing to sign Rodri, while players such as Adam Wharton and Enzo Fernandez could potentially move to the Etihad after the Club World Cup. Elliott Anderson has already completed his transfer during the tournament.

Had Reijnders stayed, he would have had an opportunity to play in a deeper midfield role. That may not have solved his off-the-ball weaknesses, but it could have given him more chances to showcase his other qualities.

Maresca said: “Overall, I was happy with his performances during pre-season. I knew Tijjani from Italy, and then I followed him when he played for Milan. I know he can play in another position. He probably prefers playing deeper rather than higher up the pitch. But overall, his pre-season was good. Now we will see what happens next and make decisions.”

Another concern is that several of City’s recent signings have quickly wanted to leave, raising questions over whether they were truly suited to the club in the first place.

Marmoush also appears not to have fully reached the required standard. However, keeping players on the bench for weeks, only giving them opportunities when Haaland is rested or unavailable, is understandably difficult.

Rayan Ait-Nouri admitted that he was “not always happy” last season, but he is willing to stay and continue working with Maresca.

Nico Gonzalez was another player who was often overlooked last season, although he said he could accept being on the bench if the team was performing well.

Since Manchester City began their rebuild in January 2025, the club have signed Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Cherki, Reijnders, Ait-Nouri, Trafford, Bettinelli and Donnarumma.

Khusanov and Cherki appear to have promising futures, while Donnarumma has brought some qualities City desperately needed, despite still having weaknesses in other areas.

Vitor Reis has spent time on loan but remains highly rated internally, while Bettinelli serves as the third-choice goalkeeper.

Trafford has already left, while Marmoush and Reijnders are also expected to depart. Ait-Nouri is hoping for a breakthrough season, while Nico Gonzalez remains behind Mateo Kovacic in Maresca’s midfield pecking order.

This means the final weeks of the transfer window will be crucial for Manchester City — and potentially for football director Hugo Viana, who has overseen many deals since replacing Txiki Begiristain.

Reijnders appeared to meet many of Manchester City’s requirements, but ultimately he was judged not to fit the team’s needs.

Although a managerial change should have provided him with a fresh start, he has decided that cutting his losses early is the best option.

After moving to Saudi Arabia with Al-Qadsiah, we may never know whether Reijnders was truly suited to the Premier League or even elite-level football.

Considering he spent only one season at Manchester City, it remains difficult to make a complete judgement. But the concerns that existed from the beginning ultimately contributed to what now appears to be a failed transfer.