Tijjani Reijnders

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we shouldn’t sign anyone above 23. they will start getting good by 26-27. let’s go even further and recreate the Chelsea policy and refuse to buy above 21.
 
ninjamonkey said:
Not fully convinced. Will be 27 shortly and only really has last season at anywhere close to the standard we need. It's a weird age, either sign the absolute best around at that kind of age or go younger and get the future best. Say he takes the usual 18 months to fully settle, he's going to be fastly approaching 30 by the time we see the best of him.

We've got rodri back, kovacic freed up for the 8 as a result, nico has just come in and barely featured, bernardo put in strong performances there, you've then got Rico Lewis and o'reilly both wanting to play in their natural position, the experience of gundo too to support those and all for just 2 positions and that's not even an extensive list of options. Seems too much for a manager that's not wanting a big squad.
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Typically I agree with you.

But your off the mark with this one.

Reijnders is exactly what we need.
 
ninjamonkey said:
Not fully convinced. Will be 27 shortly and only really has last season at anywhere close to the standard we need. It's a weird age, either sign the absolute best around at that kind of age or go younger and get the future best. Say he takes the usual 18 months to fully settle, he's going to be fastly approaching 30 by the time we see the best of him.

We've got rodri back, kovacic freed up for the 8 as a result, nico has just come in and barely featured, bernardo put in strong performances there, you've then got Rico Lewis and o'reilly both wanting to play in their natural position, the experience of gundo too to support those and all for just 2 positions and that's not even an extensive list of options. Seems too much for a manager that's not wanting a big squad.
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Reijnders could run every one of those mentioned into the ground, including Bernardo, and that’s what we currently need. Our system is clearly going to become more fluid and expansive, so I’ve every confidence he’ll cope.

We should have signed him in the summer of ‘23 but inexplicably chose Nunes instead, so ultimately it’s a rather expensive signing. Better late than never, I guess.
 
WallyA said:
Typically I agree with you.

But your off the mark with this one.

Reijnders is exactly what we need.
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I've liked him since before the links with us started so I'm not against him as a player and I'm not saying he won't prove to be a good signing for us, i just don't think enough things align to make him our priority this window.

He's not old but he is out of the ideal age range, he's only really got 1 good season behind him and all those players mentioned earlier, I don't see leaving which stacks us heavily in that area when pep is moaning about having a big squad which means we are likely to end up short elsewhere and therefore be shoehorning midfielders into other positions again.

This isn't a view I expect to be proved correct on, but right now I don't see it as a no brainer top priority. Hopefully in 12 months time that will have been proven to be wrong.
 
Gabriel said:
Reijnders could run every one of those mentioned into the ground, including Bernardo, and that’s what we currently need. Our system is clearly going to become more fluid and expansive, so I’ve every confidence he’ll cope.

We should have signed him in the summer of ‘23 but inexplicably chose Nunes instead, so ultimately it’s a rather expensive signing. Better late than never, I guess.
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Is our system going that way? That's the hope and that's what most of us would agree is needed myself included but I don't know how we can make that assumption right now when all season peps been saying things that contradict us going that way.
 
ninjamonkey said:
I've liked him since before the links with us started so I'm not against him as a player and I'm not saying he won't prove to be a good signing for us, i just don't think enough things align to make him our priority this window.

He's not old but he is out of the ideal age range, he's only really got 1 good season behind him and all those players mentioned earlier, I don't see leaving which stacks us heavily in that area when pep is moaning about having a big squad which means we are likely to end up short elsewhere and therefore be shoehorning midfielders into other positions again.

This isn't a view I expect to be proved correct on, but right now I don't see it as a no brainer top priority. Hopefully in 12 months time that will have been proven to be wrong.
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Whys he considered to only have 1 good season ?
 
ninjamonkey said:
I've liked him since before the links with us started so I'm not against him as a player and I'm not saying he won't prove to be a good signing for us, i just don't think enough things align to make him our priority this window.

He's not old but he is out of the ideal age range, he's only really got 1 good season behind him and all those players mentioned earlier, I don't see leaving which stacks us heavily in that area when pep is moaning about having a big squad which means we are likely to end up short elsewhere and therefore be shoehorning midfielders into other positions again.

This isn't a view I expect to be proved correct on, but right now I don't see it as a no brainer top priority. Hopefully in 12 months time that will have been proven to be wrong.
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Fair enough.

I would say in regards to the age thing, that we have Nico G as the younger signing for that.

I see him as a proper hybrid replacement of Kevin and Gundogan, two players who offered "goals" (and Kevin assists) and his signing simply "adds goals from midfield" back to the squad we need.

And I'm not a transfer expert, but I'm not aware of many box to box midfield options who get goals like he does (I also consider him a late bloomer and don't see this as a 1 off). His price is also very good for that need.

Of the 3 of Gundogan, Bernie, and Kova, I think it's clear atleast 1 is going along with Kevin, the rumours of City being aggressive in this window are way too strong.

I dunno if any position is top priority, and instead see the top priority as "refresh the squad in many spots".
 
ninjamonkey said:
Is our system going that way? That's the hope and that's what most of us would agree is needed myself included but I don't know how we can make that assumption right now when all season peps been saying things that contradict us going that way.
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It has to. With fitter, faster midfielders we can open up play. The club bought the wingers and attackers to play that way, added defenders in the winter, but left the midfield rebuild until now. Guardiola’s comments often don’t tally with what transpires, but then again he has to protect and inspire the players he has at the time.

On Reijnders, he has had two very good seasons in Milan and before that two very good seasons in Alkmaar.
 
WallyA said:
Fair enough.

I would say in regards to the age thing, that we have Nico G as the younger signing for that.

I see him as a proper hybrid replacement of Kevin and Gundogan, two players who offered "goals" (and Kevin assists) and his signing simply "adds goals from midfield" back to the squad we need.

And I'm not a transfer expert, but I'm not aware of many box to box midfield options who get goals like he does (I also consider him a late bloomer and don't see this as a 1 off). His price is also very good for that need.

Of the 3 of Gundogan, Bernie, and Kova, I think it's clear atleast 1 is going along with Kevin, the rumours of City being aggressive in this window are way too strong.

I dunno if any position is top priority, and instead see the top priority as "refresh the squad in many spots".
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the goals thing I don't get, the season just gone is the first time hes ever reached double figures, before that he had never even reached 5 for a top flight side. He might carry that form over, he may even improve on it but I dont think we can confidently say hes a source of goals right now with just 1 season to back it up.

Gabriel said:
It has to. With fitter, faster midfielders we can open up play. The club bought the wingers and attackers to play that way, added defenders in the winter, but left the midfield rebuild until now. Guardiola’s comments often don’t tally with what transpires, but then again he has to protect and inspire the players he has at the time.

On Reijnders, he has had two very good seasons in Milan and before that two very good seasons in Alkmaar.
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It makes sense. I've been crying out for it since before last season, haaland suits it much more but for me, last season was the chance to change it and yet he persisted with the slow build up even when it was going horribly wrong and that combined with his comments about us moving too much makes me skeptical we'll see a change in approach. We shall soon see one way or another.
 
ninjamonkey said:
It makes sense. I've been crying out for it since before last season, haaland suits it much more but for me, last season was the chance to change it and yet he persisted with the slow build up even when it was going horribly wrong and that combined with his comments about us moving too much makes me skeptical we'll see a change in approach. We shall soon see one way or another.
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It could only be changed by altering all components simultaneously, but the existing midfield was tied down to long contracts, aging, and acquisitions were sub-par; it's concerning that there has been no midfield upgrade since Rodri arrived in 2019. At the back, the only reliable player with pace left, and if we'd tried to play expansively in those circumstance we'd have kept getting beat and missed out on Champions League. We'll see a change in play now, simply by dint of the fact that the old guard won't be there to turn to.
 
ninjamonkey said:
the goals thing I don't get, the season just gone is the first time hes ever reached double figures, before that he had never even reached 5 for a top flight side. He might carry that form over, he may even improve on it but I dont think we can confidently say hes a source of goals right now with just 1 season to back it up.


It makes sense. I've been crying out for it since before last season, haaland suits it much more but for me, last season was the chance to change it and yet he persisted with the slow build up even when it was going horribly wrong and that combined with his comments about us moving too much makes me skeptical we'll see a change in approach. We shall soon see one way or another.
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This is why I said he is a bit of a late bloomer.

I dug into his transfermarkt stats to illustrate this.

Firstly, he didn't really play in the Eredivisie that much at a young age. Here is his league time:

In the 2020/21 season, wherein he started at the age of 22, he played 22 games with only 722 mins, hardly anything, similar in the slight years before being the academy at a late age with minimal eredivisie mins.

Then in the 2021/22 season, at 23 now, he plays 33 games (improvement), and 1288 mins, so we see he got more games, but mostly as subs (he averaged like 40 mins per appearance). He got 6G/A in this season.

Then in the 2022/23 season, at 24 now, he plays 34 games and 3048 mins, this is clearly basically starter game time, so at 24, he got to playout and be a proper player, that's a late bloomer to me! 11G/A in this season.

Then in the 2023/24 season, at 25 now, he gets moved to AC Milan in a obviously tougher league (so his 1st season in a top 5 league at 25), playing in all 3 midfield spots, but still playing 36 games in 2829 mins with 7G/A (which I attribute to jumping a league in difficulty).

And now this 2024/25 season has passed, and clearly acclimating to the tougher league, at 26 now he improves yet again just as he did in his early Eredivisie days, 15G/A in 3132 mins (only league like others).

So I think the 1 season thing is incorrect, there is clear evidence that he is an upwards trajectory and he has gained experience, but that he also started late, so that's why he wasn't rocking the world at 22/23 years of age, and why people are seeing it now, he just has the chance now.
 
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