Over the years at Manchester City, a celebrated few have managed to bag a goal on their debut for the Premier League giants.
Notably, both Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland registered goals on their first appearance in City’s sky blue, with Tijjani Rejinders now a part of this exclusive club after stroking a superb effort home against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He was also directly involved in the opener when delicately laying it off to Rico Lewis to assist the aforementioned Haaland, before putting it on a plate for the deadly Nordic centre-forward himself to close the one-sided game at 4-0.
Already, it looks as if City have struck gold on a Premier League-ready star, with the hope now that another statement signing can also go through before September’s deadline to try and replicate the immediate success of this £42.5m deal.
Man City make £86m superstar their main target
City aren’t having it all their own way in the chaotic transfer window.
It seems as if they will miss out on long-term target Xavi Simons, with the in-demand RB Leipzig attacking midfielder reportedly more interested in a switch to Chelsea than moving to the Etihad.
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That won’t knock their confidence for too long, as another statement move looks to be in the offing to further enhance City’s potent attacking personnel that tore Wolves to shreds.
Indeed, as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, City hold Real Madrid attacker Rodrygo in high esteem, with Pep Guardiola and Co singling out the £86m-rated Brazilian as a main target, if Savinho does decide to leave City behind for Tottenham Hotspur.
City will hope that the entertaining South American attacker can be an instant hit in the hustle and bustle of the Premier League, much like Reijnders displayed at Molineux, with the pair holding many similarities, away from just potentially lining up alongside each other in England.
How Rodrygo can be Reijnders 2.0
Before embarking on this new adventure in Manchester with Guardiola’s men, Reijnders had managed to establish himself as an easy-on-the-eye midfield figure in some tough European terrains.
Across 232 appearances for both AZ Alkmaar and AC Milan, the much-talked-about Dutchman would tally up a mightily impressive 56 goals and assists, leading to him then picking up a goal and assist on a magical debut in the Premier League, with football pundit Chris Powell naming him as City’s “star-man” post-match.
Rodrygo has similarly lit up the pitches of La Liga with dynamic displays from the midfield ranks, as seen in his bumper 68 goals and 51 assists across 270 clashes in Madrid, with the Brazilian also capable of playing as a centre-forward, away from being a comfortable performer down either wing.
Reijnders has also shown off a similar adaptability across his playing days to date, with a standout five-goal contributions coming his way from only 16 career appearances on the left flank.
Away from just this similarity, the numbers below again show correlations between the two players and their constant desire to make openings and goals happen.
Total shots
2.54
21.5
Shot-creating actions
4.56
3.13
Attempted passes
50.35
44.37
Pass completion %
85.7%
88.2%
Progressive passes
4.69
6.35
Progressive carries
5.07
3.02
Successful take-ons
2.15
1.02
Touches in the attacking penalty area
5.84
2.33
Progressive passes received
11.33
3.53
Rodrygo’s arrival on the scene could see the goals rain even heavier at the Etihad, with the Brazilian attacker far less focused on the build-up play – compared with the brand new City number 4 – and more focused on driving forward with purpose, as seen in him averaging more shots and shot-creating actions over the last year per 90 minutes than the 23-time Netherlands international.
The two new signings together in Guardiola’s XI could push City to stay at the summit, with Rodrygo’s blistering exploits at the Santiago Bernabeu even seeing him be dubbed “world-class’ by Madrid teammate Luka Modric, on top of being labelled as a “jewel” by one analyst.
