Manchester City are considering a move for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders as they seek to address their midfield crisis.
Man City have been without Ballon d’Or winner Rodri since early September after the Spanish midfielder tore his ACL in a Premier League clash with Arsenal.
His absence has already proven costly for Pep Guardiola’s side, who have lost their last four matches across three different competitions.
With no recognized No. 6 available, Guardiola is looking for solutions in the January transfer window.
Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has emerged as a potential target, with reports suggesting that City have “tested the waters” for a move.
Guardiola sees Reijnders, who joined Milan from AZ Alkmaar for €20million (£16.5million) in July 2023, as an “ideal player” for his tactical system.
Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb reports that City have a strong interest in the Netherlands international but have yet to make a formal approach.
Guardiola has not ruled out signing a replacement for Rodri, stating in September: “We will see.
“We talked today with Txiki [Begiristain], we will see what’s going on.
“We don’t have to decide tomorrow, right? We have time to see the potential problems we will have and after we will see.”
Torino and Italy’s Samuele Ricci has also emerged as an alternative to Reijnders, who is content at Milan and is set to be offered a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2030.
This comes after Reijnders scored in Milan’s recent 3-1 victory away at Real Madrid.
The 26-year-old’s father, Martin, recently disclosed that he advised his son to turn down Barcelona last year, despite being linked with a move to replace Sergio Busquets.
“I advised my son to refuse Barcelona, there he would have been a reserve and there was the risk of failure like many others,” he told Dutch newspaper Algemen Dagblad.
“There were also requests from English clubs, but I only spoke to them through intermediaries.
“Only with Barcelona did I have direct contact, speaking to the technical director Deco. I checked his profile photo to verify that it was really him.
“Clearly we were pleased with Barcelona’s interest – continues Reijnders’ father – but they were looking for a replacement for Busquets and I immediately told my son that he is not that type of player, he doesn’t have the characteristics they wanted.
“And before he knew it, he would have ended up straight on the bench.
“Becoming yet another player who fails abroad.”
Read more: Mohamed Salah contract update at Liverpool
Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag linked with AS Roma job
Martin Odegaard returns to UK to continue rehabilitation work with Arsenal