Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes that summer transfer target Tijjani Reijnders could "easily be shaped" into an "Ilkay Gundogan-esque player" under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola.
The 26-year-old has emerged as a leading target for the Citizens, who are believed to have opened club-to-club talks with AC Milan and are soon expected to table an opening bid.
Reijnders is said to have given the green light to move to the Etihad Stadium this summer and Man City hope to complete a deal, that could cost around €50m (£41.9m) to €55m (£46.1m), before they begin their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the middle of next month.
The Netherlands international is believed to be Man City's top target for the No.8 position, where Citizens legend Gundogan thrived in the prime years of his career, most notably playing in that role during the club's historic treble-winning campaign in 2022-23.
Reijnders elevated his game to new heights as an all-round midfielder in the 2024-25 campaign and was named Serie A Midfielder of the Season after recording 10 goals and five assists in 37 league games for Milan.
"Gundogan-esque" Reijnders "has a bit of magic to him"
With Gundogan turning 35 in a few months' time, McInerney can understand why Man City would target a "magically gifted footballer" like Reijnders and hopes that they can get the deal over the line this summer.
"I think he's very Gundogan-coded," McInerney told Sports Mole. "You get that same box-crashing ability. Gundogan [against Fulham last weekend], he's there, especially towards the end of the season, he has this uncanny ability to step up. He's there closer to the strikers because he has that instinct for goals and Reijnders seems to have that.
"He also has that same elegance and that same upward stride and just glides past people and has a bit of magic to him. I think you look at that as a potential Gundogan replacement, Reijnders.
"It just makes sense profile-wise (to sign Reijnders). He's definitely the Gundogan replacement for me, because he just can do what Gundogan can. Obviously, Gundogan's more experienced and so on, but I think he could easily be shaped into a Gundogan-esque player."
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What are Man City lacking in their midfield?
McInerney has highlighted the "biggest issue" in Man City's midfield in recent years and has explained what Reijnders would offer to Guardiola's team if he were to make the summer switch to the Etihad.
"My biggest issue with City over the past couple of years has been the slow degradation of elite-level technical quality in Manchester City midfield," said McInerney.
"I watched Joao Neves, 5ft 7in boss midfields in Europe this season for PSG...it's not about having these big guys, it's about having people who can run, but also most importantly who can keep the ball, because City have to operate on that level. Bernardo Silva doesn't have to be massive, he just had to have the heart, the work rate and he had to have the technical ability.
"I look around at City's midfield and we signed [Matheus] Nunes, we signed Kalvin Phillips, they just weren't good enough technically. They didn't have the composure, the spatial awareness. We signed [Mateo] Kovacic as well, he's much better than those two in midfield, but I would argue even then Kovacic has been a slight step down over the majesty or the brilliance, the elegance of David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, or the brute force, technical brilliance of a Kevin De Bruyne.
"It's been a slow degradation of City's ability to sort of keep the ball, control teams and unpick the lock delicately. As much as Kovacic is a great player and as much as we've seen City still win leagues, "I think we've been leaning on Bernardo Silva who's got older, Kevin De Bruyne who's got older, and I think the standards have dropped a little bit in midfield.
"We've tried people like Nunes, Kovacic and Phillips. It just hasn't worked, and Gundogan is not as good as he was two years ago. Bernardo Silva is not as good as two years ago, so their levels have dipped a little bit.
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Man City-linked Reijnders labelled a "young Gundogan"
"Reijnders, coming full circle, is a young Gundogan. A magically gifted footballer. Maybe he hasn't quite got the hard-working ability yet, but I'm sure Guardiola will put that into him because Gundogan wasn't that at first, Bernardo Silva became much more of a relentless runner when he joined City.
"But most importantly, he can do the 'thousand million passes' (that Guardiola wants), he's wonderful in possession, he can score goals as well, he scores loads of goals. He can get the ball, pirouette past two people, then plays a dinked little through-ball into channels to put someone through on goal, and just a moment of magic out of nowhere with a beautifully-weighted pass - that is the level of quality you need."
McInerney continued: "City have to be taking the best midfielders from some of the best leagues. We did it with Rodri. Rodri was one of the best central midfielders in La Liga, he was cracking for Atletico before we signed him and he's evolved into a Ballon d'Or winning level player.
"I'm not saying Reijnders will win the Ballon d'Or, but I'm saying he is apparently the best midfielder in Serie A, according to their rewards, so that is the level it has to be. It can't always be projects. Sometimes you've got to go out and get a high quality player, and this guy has it all.
"Technically wonderful, a great goalscorer, loves to shoot from long range, we've not had enough of that with Rodri not there, [Phil] Foden out of form, De Bruyne not pulling the trigger as much, we've missed a different way to get at teams.
"Reijnders wants to score goals, Rodri wants to score goals, those two back into the team do. If you get [Morgan] Gibbs-White, he wants to shoot from long range, too. It's just different ways to play with people who are very comfortable in tight spaces. I'd be buzzing if he signs, I think he'd be a massive step up in City's midfield."
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
