Tijjani Reijnders said that he is willing to play anywhere Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants him in the midfield
Reijnders played in three different positions for Man City in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025
City suffered a setback as Rodri suffered an injury relapse that will likely keep him out till September
Man City’s Tijjani Reijnders Willing To Play Anywhere Guardiola Wants Amid Rodri Injury Setback
Rodri, who suffered an ACL injury last season for Manchester City, will be out till September after suffering a fitness setback
Summary
Tijjani Reijnders insisted he is willing to play in any position in Manchester City's midfield under Pep Guardiola amid Rodri's latest injury setback.
Reijnders scored his first two goals since his £46.5m (€53.7m) switch from AC Milan in City's 3-0 win in a pre-season friendly against Palermo on Saturday.
The Netherlands international is one of six new faces in Guardiola's ranks as they look to retain their Premier League crown in 2025-26.
But even before the start of their season, they suffered an injury blow with Rodri, who missed the majority of last campaign with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Indeed, since Rodri's arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2019, the Citizens have won just 54 of their 94 games (57.4%) without the Spaniard patrolling their midfield in all competitions, compared to 195 victories in 265 matches (73.6%) with him available.
It is believed that Rodri's problem could keep him out until September, potentially seeing Reijnders operate in Rodri's position for the first part of the campaign.
Reijnders has the ability to play anywhere in central midfield, with 50% of his 37 outings in Serie A last season coming in the deeper-lying role in the middle of the park.
And speaking to reporters after their victory over Palermo, Reijnders is ready to fill the gap in City's midfield vacated by Rodri.
"In the Club World Cup, I played three roles in the midfield and I want to be a midfielder who can play in all of those roles," Reijnders said.
"I want to play where the manager wants me to play. I will play, and I will do my best, of course."
"We've worked a lot on ball possession and what we can do against teams who are, for example, in a really low block.
"Also, the reaction of when we lose the ball is how quickly we can get it back.
"In the Club World Cup we played some matches together and now in training we have got to know each other a little better.
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"I can see, of course, that he has a lot of qualities and that makes it easier for the rest of us midfielders to play alongside him."
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