Tijjani Reijnders made a pretty solid start at Manchester City before struggling to make an impact in the second half of 2025/26 – but the appointment of Enzo Maresca could help him immensely.
Fans were delighted when Tijjani Reijnders arrived last summer following a fine campaign at AC Milan.
And the Dutchman quickly got supporters purring, as he dazzled on his Premier League debut against Wolves.
However, sadly, that was actually the best game Reijnders has probably had in a Manchester City shirt.
Of course, he still had several other good games, and did finish the season with seven goals and eight assists to his name.
But that showing against Wolves was special, and fans want to see that kind of level again on a more consistent basis.
And quite possibly, Enzo Maresca is the ideal man to bring it out of him.
Enzo Maresca could help Tijjani Reijnders shine at Man City
On Monday, Manchester City finally confirmed the appointment of Enzo Maresca as Pep Guardiola’s successor at the Etihad Stadium.
The Italian obviously has huge shoes to fill, but he’s shown himself to be a talented coach already, and the fact he’s been at the club before should stand him in good stead.
At Chelsea, Maresca was credited with improving several players.
And it was particularly interesting to see the work he did with Enzo Fernandez.
In his earlier days at Chelsea, the Argentine operated fairly deep in the Blues’ midfield. But Maresca saw potential in him to play a bit more advanced.
He got him as a left-sided eight, and instructed the South American to crash the box where possible. In total, Fernandez scored 15 and assisted 19 in 79 games under Maresca.
Crashing the box is one of the staples of Reijnders’ game, as he showed mainly at Milan, which helped him to score 15 goals and make five assists.
If Maresca wants another Fernandez-type player, then Reijnders could well be his man.
Of course, Elliot Anderson is about to seal his club-record move from Nottingham Forest and it’s possible he could also play in a box-to-box role.
But certainly, Reijnders will be encouraged by the work the Italian did with Fernandez and perhaps hope the Italian can have a similar impact on him.
Man City should keep faith with Reijnders
While it wasn’t the season that he and everyone hoped for, Reijnders still made 16 goal contributions for City in his first season.
That suggests there’s plenty to work with for the new manager, and City should not be tempted to cash in after just one year.
Competition for places is obviously very tough.
City’s midfield options include Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki, with Anderson joining imminently. Nico O’Reilly is also an option.
The club ought to keep him, though, given the contributions he made last term without playing consistently well.
In his second season, he will surely improve under a manager who’s shown with Fernandez – and also Wilfred Ndidi at Leicester – that he can transform midfielders.
