Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney discuss Tijjani Reijnders’ ‘perfect midfield performance’ on his Premier League debut in Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Wolves and explain why he will make a difference in Pep Guardiola’s side this season.
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Boss Guardiola has maintained last season’s disappointment was down to the number of injuries his side suffered, particularly losing Ballon d’Or winner Rodri to a serious knee injury for most of the campaign.
The Spaniard’s absence left a gaping hole and the centre of the park lacked real energy, with Nico Gonzalez signed for £50m from Porto in January and Reijnders added from AC Milan for £42.5m in the summer.
The Dutchman showed glimpses of his capabilities at the Club World Cup but gave fans in England a real taste of what to expect in the Premier League.
Reijnders said: “I saw the intensity and it is pretty hard, but it is nice to play in the Premier League and to score on my debut is always nice.
“I’m always trying to find space in the box and work to give assists. My type of game is to be a box-to-box player and help the team with goals and assists.”
Reijnders’ footwork and chipped pass for the opening goal was sublime, while there was nothing Jose Sa could do for his first-half goal which was clipped across goal and into the bottom corner.
There were also early signs of an understanding building up with star striker Erling Haaland as his disguised pass allowed the Norwegian to net his second goal.
As well as his goal contributions, Reijnders’ dominant performance is highlighted by the fact he had 82 touches of the ball and completed 52 of his 57 passes.
Reijnders also completed 22 passes in the final third – the second most in the City team behind Gonzalez (24).
With neither Rodri nor Phil Foden available as they return to full fitness, City’s midfield will be a force to be reckoned with once the duo make a comeback.
“Tijjani Reijnders is the star man for me,” former England full-back Chris Powell said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“You will see a new-look Man City midfield and you still have Phil Foden and Rodri to come back – they have laid a small marker down.
“For City, it was a disappointing season for them last year, so they have got a lot to play for this year.”
Manchester City have confirmed the signing of AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders for an initial fee of £46.5m on a five-year contract.
The Netherlands international is Pep Guardiola’s fourth summer signing with Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki having also joined.
Reijnders, 26, was signed in time to be eligible for this month’s Club World Cup in America and could make his debut on 18 June against Wydad FC.
City decided not to pursue a deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz owing to the cost of the deal.
Instead, they have signed Reijnders, Cherki, Bettinelli and Ait-Nouri for a total of around £108m, less than the reported 150m Euros (£127m) asking price for Germany international Wirtz.
The midfielder has been capped 22 times by the Netherlands but was left on the bench during Tuesday night’s 8-0 thrashing of Malta.
He scored 15 goals in 54 matches across all competitions for Milan last term and was named Serie A’s midfielder of the season.
With Kevin de Bruyne departing the club, Reijnders will strengthen the centre of the pitch for Guardiola as they look to improve on their third-placed Premier League finish last season.
Tijjani Reijnders closes in on move to Manchester City, Newcastle United switch attention to try to sign Brighton forward Joao Pedro and Brentford could move for Ipswich Town boss Kieran Mckenna if Thomas Frank leaves.
Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, is due to have a medical at Manchester City on Sunday to finalise his move from AC Milan. (Sky Sports), external
Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez has been released from international duty by Hungary as the 21-year-old closes in on a move to Liverpool. (Mirror) , external
Newcastle United are set to step up their pursuit of Brighton and Brazil forward Joao Pedro, 23, having appeared to have missed out on 25-year-old Cameroon winger Bryan Mbeumo, who is expected to join Manchester United from Brentford. (Telegraph – subscription required), external
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is on Brentford’s list of possible candidates to succeed Thomas Frank, who is believed to be a leading option to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham. (Talksport), external
Portugal winger Rafael Leao has told AC Milan he wants to leave the club, who want at least 70m euros (£59m) for the 25-year-old, who is one of the targets being considered by Bayern Munich. (Florian Plettenberg), external
Chelsea are set to return with a second bid for France keeper Mike Maignan, 29, after having a first offer, which is considerably short of AC Milan’s asking price, rejected by the Serie A side. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external
Juventus have reached an agreement with Paris St-Germain to extend France forward Randal Kolo Muani’s loan spell, in order for the 26-year-old to play for the Serie A side at the Fifa Club World Cup. (Sky Italy), external
Napoli’s Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen, 26, has accepted a contract offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. (Sky Italy), external
Fenerbahce have joined fellow Turkish club Galatasaray in wanting to sign 29-year-old Germany winger Leroy Sane, who has yet to accept the offer of a new deal with Bayern Munich. (Sky Sports Germany), external
Bayern Munich have reached a deal with Bayer Leverkusen to sign Germany defender Jonathan Tah, 29, before his contract ends on 30 June so he can play at the Fifa Club World Cup. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Arsenal are set to sign Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, 30, by activating the £5m release clause in the Spaniard’s contract. (Evening Standard), external
Manchester City have agreed a 55m euros (£46.3m) deal with AC Milan for Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.
The 26-year-old will sign a five-year contract at Etihad Stadium after agreeing personal terms with City.
The deal, which is subject to a medical, includes additional payments if certain clauses are met.
City hope to complete a deal for Reijnders in time for this month’s Club World Cup, which kicks off on 14 June.
His arrival will strengthen an area of the pitch that has been weakened by injury to Mateo Kovacic, who has been ruled out of the 32-team tournament in the United States after undergoing Achilles surgery.
Midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is also expected not to be involved in the tournament, with a move to Serie A champions Napoli looking increasingly likely.
Manchester City move for £55m midfielder, Manchester United and Newcastle eye Premier League forwards and a Bellingham could be off to Germany.
Manchester City are ramping up their pursuit of AC Milan and Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, who, is expected to command a fee of more than £55m. (Mail), external
Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 33, and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho, 20, are among the players Manchester United want to move on as they look to significantly reduce their squad for next season. (Telegraph – subscription required), external
Manchester United have held talks with Brentford and Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo, 25, who is valued at around £50m. (Talksport), external
Newcastle United are holding showdown talks with England Under-21 forward Liam Delap, 22, as they look to convince the Ipswich Town player to join them instead of Everton, Manchester United or Chelsea. (TeamTalk), external
Newcastle also have a serious interest in Brighton’s Brazil forward Joao Pedro, 23. (i Paper – subscription needed), external
Chelsea have discussed a move for Eintracht Frankfurt’s 22-year-old French forward Hugo Ekitike. They also have significant interest in Sporting’s Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres, 26, and Ipswich’s Delap. (Independent), external
Eintracht Frankfurt value Chelsea-target Ekitike at £84m, albeit with a negotiable payment structure. (Athletic), external
Sunderland’s 19-year-old English midfielder Jobe Bellingham is in Germany for transfer talks with Eintracht Frankfurt – two days after helping his club win promotion. Borussia Dortmund – who brother Jude played for – and Leipzig are also interested. (Sky Sports), external
Manchester United want Wolves and Portugal right-back Nelson Semedo. The 31-year-old will be a free agent this summer. (Football Transfers), external
Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes has confirmed Liverpool’s “concrete” interest in 22-year-old Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. (Sky Sport Germany – in German), external
Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna says they have been working on a deal to sign Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 33, for some time and “can see the finish line”. His contract at Manchester City expires next month. (Rai News – in Italian), external
Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Manchester United have all shown concrete interest in signing AC Milan and Portugal forward Rafael Leao, 25, this summer. (Teamtalk), external
Newcastle have decided against taking up the option to extend 33-year-old former England striker Callum Wilson’s contract but have entered negotiations about a new incentive-based deal. (Athletic – subscription needed), external
Ligue 1 newcomers Paris FC are interested in signing 35-year-old Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gueye, whose contract at Everton expires next month. (Foot Mercato – in French), external
Striker Marcus Rashford is happy to take a pay cut in order to get a move from Manchester United to Barcelona, Arsenal braced for Jakub Kiwior bid from Napoli, AC Milan turn down Manchester City offer for Tijjani Reijnders.
Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford, 27, currently on loan at Aston Villa, is willing to lower his wage demands to secure a summer move to Barcelona. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external
Barcelona want to take Rashford on loan from Manchester United in the first instance but with an option to buy. (Sport – in Spanish), external
Arsenal and Poland defender Jakub Kiwior, 25, will be targeted by Napoli again this summer but the Serie A club want the Gunners to lower their £30m asking price. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external
Manchester United will not sack manager Ruben Amorim even if they lose the Europa League final against Tottenham. (Mirror), external
Manchester City are planning a £180m double deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Germany winger Florian Wirtz, 22, and AC Milan and the Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26. (Mirror), external
AC Milan have turned down a £50.4m offer from Manchester City for Reijnders. (Teamtalk), external
Bayer Leverkusen and the Netherlands right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, 24, has agreed a five-year contract with Liverpool. (Talksport), external
Germany winger Leroy Sane, 29, has rejected the offer of a new contract at Bayern Munich amid links with clubs in the Premier League and La Liga. ( Sky Germany – in German), external
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez looks to be on his way out of the club with the 32-year-old Argentine receiving offers from Saudi Arabia and two European sides. (Mundo Albiceleste – in Spanish), external
Martinez and his family are settled in Birmingham but he wants to move in order to win more trophies. (Ole – in Spanish), external
Aston Villa are eyeing Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher as a potential replacement for Martinez but face competition from Chelsea, Newcastle United and Bournemouth for the 26-year-old Republic of Ireland goalkeeper. (The I), external
Espanyol’s Spanish goalkeeper Joan Garcia, 24, is also interesting Aston Villa. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Newcastle United are ready to spend £150m in the summer transfer window with a right winger, forward and goalkeeper high on manager Eddie Howe’s wish-list. (Newcastle Chronicle), external
Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr, 24, is a target for a number of Saudi Arabian clubs with an offer of £210m (250m euros) believed to be on the table. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external
Former Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro turned down a chance to take over at Brazilian side Corinthians with the 63-year-old Portuguese on course for a role in the Premier League. (Foot Mercato – in French), external
Pep Guardiola wants to bring AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester CIty, Liverpool winger Luis Diaz pledges his future to the Reds, while Manchester United are set to keep faith with boss Ruben Amorim.
Manchester City will target a summer move for 26-year-old Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, who will only consider a bid in excess of club record £57m. (Telegraph – subscription required), external
Manchester United’s hierarchy have no immediate plans to replace Ruben Amorim as manager. (Talksport), external
Colombian winger Luis Diaz, 28, has pledged his future to Liverpool despite having previously been linked with Barcelona. (Express, via Telemundo), external
Real Madrid have not yet made Liverpool a formal offer to sign England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold early, a week after asking the Premier League club if the 26-year-old could play for them in next month’s Club World Cup. (Sky Sports), external
Liverpool could look to replace Alexander-Arnold with Bayer Leverkusen and Netherlands right-back Jeremie Frimpong, 24, who has a £29.4m-33.6m (35-40m euros) release clause. (Sky Germany – in German), external
Newcastle defender Sven Botman wants to stay at at the club despite interest in the Netherlands international, 25, from Paris St-Germain. (The I), external
Napoli have held talks with Kevin de Bruyne’s camp about signing on a free transfer when his contract expires with Manchester City in the summer. (Sky Switzerland – in French), external
Atletico Madrid are set to hold talks with Manchester United over a deal for Brazil winger Antony, who is on loan at Real Betis, with Juventus and Villarreal also keen on the 25-year-old. (Football Espana), external
Real Madrid are interested in re-signing France left-back Theo Hernandez, 27, from AC Milan, six years after he left them. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external
The transfer deadline will close four hours earlier than previously for this summer’s double window with the time set to change from 23:00 to 19:00 BST. (Mail), external