Manchester City had a rather quiet summer transfer window this year by their usual high standards. Although that doesn’t mean they haven’t made any moves. In fact, the Citizens have brought in Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Gianluigi Donnarumma, among others.
Meanwhile, a number of notable names have also left Manchester City, including one of the best midfielders to ever step onto the football field, Kevin De Bruyne, who has joined Napoli permanently. This has, in turn, left a major void to be filled in the middle of the park for the club management.
A number of players were linked with a move to strengthen the position, and Reijnders emerged as the final choice. However, it looks like the Dutch international wasn’t the first player Man City targeted, as reports suggest that Manchester City went after a Newcastle player before signing Reijnders.
In fact, the Mirror have reported that Newcastle United dismissed an approach from Manchester City this summer for Bruno Guimaraes, but the discussion was quickly shut down and a prolonged transfer saga was avoided.
Manchester City tried to sign rival midfielder before Reijnders
Guimaraes, who is currently the Magpies’ captain, has played the role of a leader perfectly at Newcastle over the last few seasons. Manchester City would have been really fortunate if they had managed to sign the Brazilian midfielder.
Anyway, after the failed approach for Guimaraes, Man City reportedly shifted their focus quickly to Reijnders. And to be honest, that has paid off well for the club as the Dutch international is off to a flying start in the Sky Blues jersey.
Reijnders has already scored one goal and provided two assists in just five appearances for the Citizens, and he is expected to only improve as time goes on. But the real question is: can he fill the shoes of De Bruyne and have a similar impact in the long run? That remains to be seen.