Pep Guardiola credits two Manchester City figures for ‘special’ Tijjani Reijnders signing | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has credited Txiki Begiristain and Hugo Viana for the acquisition of Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan this summer.

Reijnders has made a blistering start to life in a Manchester City shirt, recently netting a brace in a man-of-the-match 45 minute display off the bench in a 3-0 pre-season win over Palermo in Italy at the weekend.

The 26-year-old was one of City’s best players at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June, with City fans excited to see how Reijnders fares and combined in the Premier League alongside Ballon d’Or holder Rodri.

One of Manchester City’s six summer signings so far, the Netherlands international has wasted no time adapting to life at his new club after signing a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium that will keep him at the club till the summer of 2030.

Reijnders is in line to make his full Premier League debut in Manchester City’s opening fixture of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign against Wolves on Saturday evening, which could see him open his Premier League goalscoring account if he maintains his pre-season form.

Speaking after City’s pre-season triumph over Palermo last weekend, Guardiola raved about his new midfield addition and one that comes at a timely moment for the Blues, who were over-reliant on Erling Haaland to deliver the goods in front of goal last term.

“We knew he (Reijnders) is a special player arriving in the box. People in Italy know him perfectly,” said Guardiola after the win in Sicily.

“He (Reijnders) made a good performance like the rest of his mates. He can play as a holding midfielder but loves to arrive to the box to help strikers like Erling (Haaland) and Omar (Marmoush). Really pleased.”

Guardiola went on to credit former City director of football Txiki Begiristain, who officially left the club earlier this month, and his replacement Hugo Viana, who has orchestrated a major revamp of the first-team squad ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

“It’s credit to Txiki (Begiristain) and Hugo Viana. Signings always belong to them. Of course we talk, I give my opinion, but always the good ones that work and don’t work, it belongs to the club,” the 54-year-old added.

“The club decides which players they want, because during the year I don’t have time to see players. It’s a job for them. The club is incredibly well-run, organised in this department, and they did really good signings. Happy to have them!

“The three signings done before the (Club) World Cup were really good; (Rayan) Cherki, (Rayan) Ait-Nouri and (Tijjani) Reijnders. Same with (Abdukodir) Khusanov in January, he showed his potential (against Palermo) and is one of the fastest players I’ve seen.”