Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri offer “very encouraging” Man City boost at Club World Cup

Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes that new signings Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri have made a “very encouraging” start to life under Pep Guardiola at the FIFA Club World Cup.

All three players, along with backup goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, were signed by the Citizens earlier this month and had just over a week to train with their new teammates ahead of their opening Group G fixture against Wydad AC.

Both Reijnders and Cherki were handed their full debuts in a routine 2-0 win over Wydad, before Ait-Nouri was handed his first start for the Citizens in a comprehensive 6-0 drubbing of Al-Ain on Monday, in which Cherki came off the substitutes' bench to score City’s sixth goal in Atlanta.

Guardiola has praised the impact of all of his new additions since arriving in the United States and McInerney hopes that there is more to come from those fresh faces and some who have returned from long-term injuries including Rodri and Oscar Bobb, the latter of whom also scored against Al-Ain.

Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: “[Against Al-Ain] we saw Rayan Cherki make a wonderful cameo off the bench - mesmeric. Al-Ain are not exactly world beaters, but either way he was immense.

“He was wonderfully charismatic with his performance, so much technicality, [scored a] great goal, great skill, created a load of chances despite being on the pitch a quarter of an hour.

“The signs are really positive” for Man City

“Ait-Nouri as well just looked like everything City had been missing on that [left] side for an awful long time. In the game prior to that against Wydad, Guardiola was infusing about Tijjani Reijnders after the game. You can see he's the exact kind of player that Guardiola's going to love.

“A truly smart but also physical technician. We signed [Matheus] Nunes because he was good at carrying the ball and so on in midfield. It's not quite happened for him centrally because Guardiola himself said he doesn't seem to be smart enough there, which isn't a dig at his cyclical knowledge, it's more how he uses the ball in the middle of the pitch.

“Reijnders has a bit of that physicality, but with [Ilkay] Gundogan's smarts, potentially. It seems very, very encouraging.

"We're also trying to see the comeback of people who've been out for a long time like Rodri and Oscar Bobb, and there's been positive steps towards all those... So far, it's been really enjoyable. I've enjoyed the positive signs and hopefully there's more to come.”

McInerney added: “The signs are really positive... I'm expecting the competition for places to be pretty fierce. Even the rumoured departing Gundogan has been fantastic. He could easily have his eye on the potential move to Galatasaray, but he's been fantastic and he's been leading the team with so much composure.

“We've had a whole bunch of centre-backs playing, they've all been good. Different options at full-back, they've all been good. And the forward line has changed each time, it's all been good.

“There's lots of competition for places and the profile (of the squad) looks very different this year as well. Lots of new players around... all things that are much-needed to give the team a bit of a shot in the arm.”

Man City can “focus on the positives” at Club World Cup

Sharing his thoughts on the newly-expanded Club World Cup overall and Guardiola’s approach to the tournament, McInerney said: “It's been fun. I know it's not pre-season technically, but it just has a very pre-season feel. I always approach them with a win-win mentality.

“If a player looks a bit rusty, they've had a bit of time off so it sort of doesn't matter. There's a billion reasons why a new signing or a player could not be at their best, whereas on the other side, you may get a positive, maybe someone’s come back in a good headspace, or is a bit motivated, or they're keen to make an impression.

“I think largely you can, within reason, ignore the negatives and just focus on the positives. I know this is the Club World Cup, so it's not technically [pre-season], but the fact that Guardiola made 11 changes between the two games suggests that he's treating it as a chance to get his squad ready for the tougher games in this tournament and the forthcoming season.”

> Click this link to view and listen to the full discussion.

Written by
Oliver Thomas