Juventus Eye Tijjani Reijnders as Manchester City Role Diminishes
Tijjani Reijnders arrived in Manchester with the weight of expectation and a £46 million price tag. He walked into a midfield coached by Pep Guardiola, fresh from an impressive spell at AC Milan, and quickly forced his way into the starting XI.
Now he is watching from the bench.
Since February, the Dutchman’s trajectory at City has turned sharply. Once a regular, he has slipped down the pecking order to the point of near invisibility. In his last nine appearances in a matchday squad, he has been an unused substitute six times. He has not played a single minute of Premier League football since March 14.
For a 27-year-old in his prime, that kind of stall does not go unnoticed. Not by agents. Not by rival clubs. And certainly not by Juventus.
Juventus circle as Reijnders stalls in Manchester
In Turin, the recruitment department has been busy redrawing the midfield for the next cycle. They want technical quality, tactical intelligence, and players who can step straight into the rhythm of Serie A without a long bedding-in period.
Reijnders ticks every box.
Reports in Italy, including Gazzetta, say Juventus are closely tracking his situation in England. They see a player who has already proved he can dominate games in Italy, who understands the tempo, the spacing, the tactical demands of the league. His time at AC Milan is not just a line on the CV; it is viewed as a major asset.
Juventus have been burned before by adaptation gone wrong. Douglas Luiz’s short and uncomfortable spell in Turin still lingers in the corridors of the club. He arrived, struggled to adjust, and was back in England before he could truly settle. That experience has hardened the club’s stance: fewer gambles, more certainty.
Reijnders offers that familiarity. He thrived at Milan, grew into one of Serie A’s most effective midfielders, and earned his move to City on the back of that form. For Juventus, the prospect of bringing him back to Italy is as much about minimizing risk as it is about adding quality.
A deal complicated by City’s investment
The problem is simple and expensive: Manchester City did not buy him cheaply.
Around £46 million went to AC Milan to secure his signature, and that figure casts a long shadow over any negotiations. A straightforward purchase would stretch Juventus at a time when they are trying to balance squad improvement with financial responsibility.
The club are already reshaping their midfield, with the expected departure of Teun Koopmeiners a key part of that puzzle. They cannot afford to misstep. Every euro must work twice as hard.
That is why any move for Reijnders is likely to require creativity rather than brute financial force. An initial loan, a player included in the deal, staggered payments over multiple seasons – all of these options are on the table. Juventus know they cannot simply walk in with a cash offer that erases City’s investment in one go.
For now, they watch. They wait. And they count the minutes Reijnders does not play.
Guardiola’s choices will shape the summer
So much hinges on what happens between now and the end of the season. If Guardiola restores Reijnders to a meaningful role, the equation changes. City may decide to keep him, or at the very least demand a fee that reflects a key squad member rather than a peripheral figure.
If the current pattern continues, the pressure grows.
Every match spent on the bench strengthens the argument for a move. For the player, who needs games to maintain his status with the Netherlands. For City, who must decide whether an expensive, unused asset makes sense in a squad of relentless competition. And for Juventus, who sense an opportunity that did not exist six months ago.
Reijnders left Serie A as one of its standout midfielders, heading for the Premier League and the promise of a bigger stage. Now, with his role shrinking in Manchester and Juventus waiting in the wings, the question is no longer whether Italy prepared him for England.
It is whether England is about to send him back.
