Tijjani Reijnders makes Manchester City transfer admission after Liverpool no-show | OneFootball

Manchester City star Tijjani Reijnders has admitted he is loving life at the Etihad Stadium and that being benched from time to time is part of a learning curve.

Reijnders played no part in City’s 3-0 battering of Liverpool in their final game before the ongoing international break as goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku secured a monumental win for the Blues against the reigning Premier League champions.

The 27-year-old has earned a call-up to the Netherlands National Team for November’s international break – wherein Ronald Koeman’s side will face Poland and Lithuania.

Since his £46.3 million move from AC Milan in June, Reijnders has impressed in midfield, notably scoring and assisting on his debut against Wolves on the first day of the Premier League season in what was widely hailed as one of the best-ever English top-flight debuts.

In addition, Reijnders has provided three assists in the UEFA Champions League, his first coming against Napoli before supplying a further two for Phil Foden against Borussia Dortmund earlier this month.

Despite accruing 15 appearances so far this term and contributing to six goals, Reijnders did not manage to get on the pitch for City’s 3-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday – after starting on the bench against Bournemouth the week prior.

Still, the prospect of not being a definite starter doesn’t bother Reijnders, though he was only on the bench 15 times for AC Milan during a two-year spell in Italy before he arrived to England in June as Manchester City’s flagship midfield signing under newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana.

“It’s great, the Premier League! I still enjoy every day at Manchester City. There’s a lot to consider in training, how we prepare tactically with the players we have,” he said in a recent interview with ESPN, as relayed by Sport Witness.

“It’s a very long season. If you look at our (Manchester City’s) squad, anyone could be in the starting lineup. I’ve been spoiled a bit these past few years. That’s part of being at a club like this. You sometimes end up on the bench.”

Netherlands can secure their place in next summer’s FIFA World Cup with a win against second-placed Poland in Group G on Friday and it’s thought that Reijnders will be a key player in his country’s last two qualifier games.

The midfielder has already shown why he merits a place in Koeman’s starting XI due to his influence on the team’s overall performance as the Netherlands prepare to fight for a place in next summer’s tournament. 

Impressively, Reijnders scored against Malta in between a Cody Gakpo brace and a late strike from Memphis Depay in a 4-0 away win that was mirrored against Finland just four days later.