Man City advance €60m deal that could unlock Enzo Fernandez transfer

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

Manchester City are about to knock down a major domino towards securing Enzo Fernandez, with a €60m transfer in the pipeline for Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.

Signed from AC Milan a year ago, Reijnders initially made a positive impression under Pep Guardiola but rapidly fell away and became little more than a squad player.

Despite his difficult time at the Etihad Stadium, City are set to bank an unlikely profit, with Al Qadsiah ready to spend €60m on the 28-year-old, who arrived for €55m a year ago, in a deal that could unlock Enzo.

Compared

Tijjani Reijnders

M, DM (C)

Man City

Tijjani Reijnders

M, DM (C)

Man City

VS

Enzo Fernández

M, DM (C)

Chelsea

Enzo Fernández

M, DM (C)

Chelsea

€50.2M	ETV	€92.6M
€45.1M - €55.2M	ETV Range	€83.3M - €101.8M
28 years old (29 Jul, 1998)	Age	25 years old (17 Jan, 2001)
Netherlands	Nationality	Argentina

Reijnders transfer talks confirmed

Numerous sources have reported that Reijnders is closing in on a move to the Saudi Pro League side.

Fabrizio Romano says: “Understand Al-Qadsiah are in advanced talks with Manchester City to sign Tijjani Reijnders.

“Club-to-club agreement close around €60m fee but green light still needed from Dutch midfielder.

“Nottingham Forest remain keen, all depends on Reijnders’ decision.”

This has been confirmed by David Ornstein of The Athletic, who states: “Talks between the two clubs and between Al Qadsiah and the player are ongoing and despite a focus on the Saudi club’s season opener later on Thursday there is hope a deal can be closed in the coming days.”

Reijnders – not Rodri – set to fuel Enzo Fernandez move

City’s desire to push a deal through for Reijnders has been given fresh urgency by Chelsea demanding that any bid they make for Enzo Fernandez has to be tabled by Friday. Otherwise, the Blues say, there is no prospect of a move.

Man City captain Rodri is also in talks to leave the club, with negotiations over his switch to Barcelona ongoing.

These are proving complicated, with the Camp Nou side struggling to match City’s €80 million asking price. Barca have tabled a couple of bids for the World Cup winner, yet both of these have been rejected by Enzo Maresca’s side.

With a reported gap in the valuation of Rodri worth €20m, the deal is still expected to progress, but not at the speed required for City to comfortably bid for Enzo in a matter of hours.

In order to guarantee a clear spot in Maresca’s squad, then, City are pinning their hopes on offloading Reijnders in a swift deal.

Proof that Man City’s transfer policy is working

Reijnders promises to be the second squad player that City will sell for a sizeable profit in the space of 12 months.

While the Cityzens are poised to secure a profit of around €5m on the Dutchman, they achieved an even bigger profit on James Trafford.

The goalkeeper arrived a year ago in a €31.2m deal from Burnley and has left for Leeds for a transfer fee of €46.7m – a markup of more than 50% in the space of a year.

This has been achieved despite Trafford’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) dropping around €3m to €26.5m due to his inactivity.

These moves are evident that Man City’s transfer policy is working, and is helping the club to fuel big-money arrivals like Enzo Fernandez.