New signing “not here to replace” the Belgian maestro; Reijnders was named best midfielder in Serie A last season
Tijjani Reijnders has made it clear he has no intention of trying to fill the shoes of Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City, despite openly admiring the Belgian midfielder and modelling aspects of his game after him.
Reijnders joined City from AC Milan in a £46.5 million transfer this summer, shortly after De Bruyne ended his decorated 10-year spell at the Etihad to sign with Napoli.
The Dutch international, speaking from City’s Club World Cup training camp in Florida, stressed that while De Bruyne and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta have influenced his playing style, his focus is on bringing his own identity to Pep Guardiola’s side.
“I’m not here to replace him [De Bruyne],” Reijnders said. “I have to play my own game. But I take things from different players and what they can do really well and try to adapt that. With Kevin De Bruyne, [it was] how he was scanning the pitch, the passes he gave.”
De Bruyne earned back-to-back Premier League Player of the Season awards during his time under Guardiola. Now, Reijnders, who was named Serie A’s best midfielder last season, is eager to develop further under the City boss.
“That’s also a big thing, of course, the best coach in the world,” said the 26-year-old. “I am very eager to learn new things here and style of playing and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Also joining City’s squad in time for the Club World Cup is left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who arrived from Wolves. The 24-year-old could make his debut in Wednesday’s opener against Moroccan champions Wydad AC in Philadelphia.
“It’s a big step for my career,” said Ait-Nouri. “I’ve been in the Premier League for a long time, I played for five years. The league is very hard. They have a lot of very good teams. But yeah, for sure the step is more higher. I will try to give my best.”
